Sometimes, people who did not intend to commit a crime find themselves facing serious criminal charges. Even typically law-abiding adults could be at risk of life-altering criminal charges if they experience a dangerous, unexpected situation.
People generally have a right to defend themselves against the criminal intentions of others. There are common law standards for self-defense that state statutes strengthen and expand. In Tennessee, there is a stand-your-ground law.
People theoretically have the right to use lethal force to protect themselves or others in certain circumstances without retreating first. People who do use the right to defend themselves may end up accused of murder and may need to take the case to trial to prove that their actions fall under the scope of the state’s stand-your-ground statute.
What rules limit the right to stand your ground?
Being lawfully present somewhere
Generally speaking, people have the right to use physical force to defend themselves and their primary residences against imminent criminal activity. The castle doctrine is what extends the right to self-defense while in a primary residence.
The stand-your-ground law applies when people are in other locations. Typically, they need to be in a place that they have legal permission to be, such as a park or a shopping mall. Those trespassing or in locations where they have no legal right to be present may not have the right to use physical force to defend themselves without risking criminal consequences.
Responding to a threat, not creating one
People can use deadly force without retreating when another person initiates a confrontation or threatens them. People who start fights or threaten others generally cannot claim they acted in self-defense.
Complying with other key laws
If an individual breaks the law, others might seek to intervene in that situation. A person shoplifting cannot shoot someone who tries to detain them and then claim that they stood their ground lawfully. Individuals in the act of violating the law generally cannot invoke the stand-your-ground law if they end up facing murder charges.
A reasonable fear of imminent harm
Generally speaking, those invoking the stand-your-ground law must have a credible fear for their immediate safety. Another reasonable adult has to consider the situation dangerous or unsafe for standard ground protections to apply.
Additionally, the degree of force used has to appropriately reflect the level of threat that a person faced. Using lethal force in response to a potentially deadly assault is reasonable to most people. Using lethal force in response to a pickpocketing attempt might not meet the necessary standard.
Those accused of murder and other violent crime need to understand their options as they begin developing criminal defense strategies. Invoking the stand-your-ground law can potentially help people prove that their actions were not criminal but were an attempt to protect themselves from a criminal threat.
