What is the "Castle Doctrine" Law?

Arizona has both Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground Laws. Castle doctrine (coined from the phrase, “a man’s home is his castle”) gives residents the right to use force – even deadly force, if appropriate – to protect themselves and their family from an intrusive and imminent threat in their home, property or vehicle.

Features of the Castle Doctrine Law

A majority of states, including Arizona, have adopted Castle Doctrine, and around half have also passed Stand Your Ground laws. These are starkly different from self-defense laws in Duty to Retreat states. In states without Castle Doctrine, even though the intrusion is on their property, homeowners are legally obligated to try and escape before they can resort to self-defense with proportional or deadly force. Castle Doctrine is Duty To Retreat’s antithesis (when in your home and, in some states, vehicle as well), as it grants residents the right to defend themselves and their families in their own home so long as there’s a reasonable belief they could be imminently harmed, and they utilize appropriate force given the circumstances.

Castle Doctrine Law Versus Stand Your Ground

While Castle Doctrine pertains to scenarios that occur on your own property, stand your ground is the same principle applied to any location. As long as you have the legal right to be somewhere, stand your ground gives you the legal right to use self-preserving force without a duty to retreat.

Because Arizona is both a Castle Doctrine and a Stand Your Ground state, residents have the legal right to defend themselves using reasonable means anywhere. However, these rights are often called into question in self-defense cases. If you’re facing prosecution for protecting yourself, your family or your property, the Law Office of Michael Alarid III will zealously defend you.

You can learn more about Stand Your Ground in our blog here.

What Does Castle Doctrine Law Not Cover?

Castle Doctrine can provide legal immunity from criminal prosecution and civil liability for individuals who defend their home, shielding them from criminal charges and lawsuits from the intruder or their family. That said, Castle Doctrine doesn’t provide blanket authorization for using deadly force in every conceivable scenario involving a perceived risk. If the threat is outside your home and doesn’t pose a reasonable threat, your actions won’t be protected by the law.

Defendants also can’t use the Castle Doctrine to justify excessive force – their method of self-defense and the level of force utilized must be considered appropriate in the given situation. While the threat doesn’t have to be holding a deadly weapon to pose a threat, residents should be careful to defend themselves with force proportionate to the perceived threat or else risk a homicide charge.

You won’t be eligible for the protections afforded by Castle Doctrine law if the force you used was not considered reasonable, such as using excessive or lethal means to defend yourself when it wasn’t necessary. However, latitude may be given based on the context of the situation and the inability of a homeowner to know exactly what level of risk they face from an intruder.

Moreover, if you employed a weapon that’s outlawed in Arizona, not only will you not be covered by Castle Doctrine law, you may face legal penalties and jail times for gun misconduct.

Under Castle Doctrine, killing an intruder can be classified as a justifiable homicide (which is not prosecutable) as long someone else in your situation would also genuinely and reasonably believe they were at risk of death, suffering devastating injuries, or if a more serious felony would occur if no action was taken.

That said, the scope for justifiable homicide is notoriously small. Whether your case can be deemed justifiable homicide depends on if law enforcement and prosecutors believe your act of self-preservation was necessary and legitimate in the moment.

Call a Phoenix Defense Lawyer Who Will Aggressively Fight for Your State-Given Rights

What does and doesn’t constitute justifiable homicide in Castle Doctrine law can be confusing, and people do face wrongful prosecution of situations that should be categorized as justifiable homicide.

For example, a homeowner may have used lethal force because they thought they were in imminent danger, only to realize afterwards the gun the intruder was pointing was a toy. Or they may mistake the friend of a child as an intruder in the middle of the night.

If your right to self-defense is being challenged, or prosecutors are alleging your actions or level of force were unreasonable given the circumstance, Arizona board-certified criminal defense lawyer Michael Alarid III is here to protect your rights. He will build a robust case of evidence that shows you were justified in the threat you perceived and strive to clearly establish you acted reasonably given the circumstances. 

Call (602) 818-3110 or contact us through our website for a free case consultation.