Also known as: retreat requirements · duty to retreat
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A rule in minority jurisdictions that requires a person who seeks to use deadly force in self-defense to retreat as far as reasonably possible if the retreat can be accomplished in complete safety. The duty applies unless a recognized exception eliminates the obligation to withdraw.
Rebecca Ross stood inside her duplex apartment when Victor forced open the locked front door and rushed into the living room. She drew her handgun and shot Victor without moving toward a back exit. The attack occurred in her own dwelling, so the retreat requirement did not apply and her self-defense claim remained available.
Rowan Russell faced an advancing coworker holding a heavy wrench in their shared service bay. She picked up a tire iron and struck the coworker once on the arm without attempting to exit through an open side door. Because the threat involved serious bodily harm and the location was her place of work, the retreat analysis turned on whether she qualified as the initial aggressor.
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Rosa Ruiz assisted a friend during a confrontation in a public alley. When the aggressor advanced with a knife, she remained in place and used deadly force rather than stepping back to a safe distance. The retreat requirement applied because the location was not her home and no exception removed the duty.
Riley Rivera stood her ground in a parking lot after an argument escalated. She used deadly force without retreating even though a clear path to safety existed behind her. Allocation of the burden regarding whether the retreat requirement had been satisfied followed the jurisdiction's rules on self-defense proof.
In minority jurisdictions following the traditional common law approach, a person must retreat as far as reasonably possible before using deadly force if the retreat can be accomplished in complete safety. The duty applies unless a recognized exception eliminates the obligation.
No. A person has no duty to retreat when the attack occurs in his or her own home. This exception, known as the castle doctrine, removes the obligation entirely even if a safe exit exists.
In a jurisdiction that requires retreat when it can be done with complete safety, the use of deadly force is not justified. The defender must use the safe avenue of retreat rather than kill.
No. A person has no duty to retreat when the attack occurs while making a lawful arrest or when the assailant is in the process of robbing the defender.
…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…