Also known as: duties to retreat · retreat doctrine · duty of retreat
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A rule in self-defense law that requires a person to withdraw from a confrontation before using deadly force if the withdrawal can be accomplished in complete safety. The rule applies only in a minority of jurisdictions and is subject to exceptions that eliminate the obligation entirely.
Carlos lives in the upstairs unit of a duplex. Maya breaks a window and climbs into the shared foyer, then advances up the stairs toward his door while shouting threats. Carlos draws a handgun and shoots her. In a retreat jurisdiction the home exception removes any duty to retreat, so Carlos may stand his ground inside the dwelling without first shutting or locking his door.
Miguel is in his barn office when Darryl shoves him into a desk and advances while raising a heavy chain. Miguel seizes a pitchfork and drives it into Darryl's chest. The jurisdiction's rule creates a robbery exception to retreat, so Miguel need not attempt to leave the office before using force.
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Luis lives year-round in the cabin of his moored vessel. A deckhand forces open the cabin door and charges toward the bunk. Luis stabs the intruder with a knife. Because the cabin functions as Luis's dwelling, the home exception eliminates any duty to retreat even though Luis could have left the vessel.
Lena lives alone in a tiny house. Mark forces his way through the only door and corners her against the kitchen sink. Lena grabs a rifle and shoots him. The attack occurs inside her dwelling, so the home exception removes any duty to retreat through a window or other route before using deadly force.
Gerald returns to his rented townhouse and finds Roger rifling drawers. Roger advances while holding a metal object. Gerald strikes Roger with a brass lamp. The long-term exclusive residential use qualifies the townhouse as Gerald's home, so the home exception eliminates any duty to retreat down the hallway before using deadly force.
The duty applies only when a person seeks to use deadly force in self-defense and can safely retreat. It does not apply to nondeadly force and is eliminated by recognized exceptions such as an attack inside the defender's own home.
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No. The exception turns on whether the location functions as the defender's dwelling. Long-term exclusive residential use, payment of rent, and storage of personal belongings establish the necessary status even when title is held by another party.
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In a retreat jurisdiction the failure defeats the self-defense claim unless an exception such as the home or workplace rule applies. The jury must determine whether the defender honestly and reasonably believed safe retreat was impossible.
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It depends on the jurisdiction's rule. Some formulations relieve the duty at a place of work unless the actor was the initial aggressor or the assailant also works there and the actor knows that fact.
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…bodily harm, and that her only means of escape from such danger was in the use of . . . force,” and (3) she “did not violate any duty to retreat or avoid danger.” Ibid. Martin argued that due process did not permit the State to impose the burden of proving self-defense on her, because proving self-defense would necessarily negate…