If you reasonably believe that someone is about to attack you, another person, or your property, California’s self-defense law allows you to use enough force to prevent the harm. If the court finds that a reasonable person in your position would have fought back the same way, your criminal charges should be dismissed.
Here are five key things to know:
Self-defense serves as a legal defense to many criminal offenses, including:
CALIFORNIA LAW
Stand your ground
Castle doctrine
Our California criminal defense attorneys will answer the following frequently asked questions about our state’s self-defense laws.
It is lawful to act in self-defense when being attacked, robbed, or otherwise assaulted in California.
You legally acted in self-defense under California state law if the following “elements” of the jury instructions are true:
Since California is a “stand your ground state,” you do not have to retreat in order to lawfully claim self-defense – even if you had a means of escape.
If you started the fight (you were the “aggressor”), you can assert self-defense only if:
In California, you never have to prove you acted in self-defense. Instead, once you claim to the court that you acted in self-defense, the prosecution bears the burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you did not act in self-defense. 5
Most defenses require you denying that you committed a crime, but self-defense is different.
Self-defense is considered an “affirmative defense.” This means that you are admitting you broke the law (by inflicting physical force on someone), but your actions were justifiable under the circumstances.
California law also allows you to fight back to protect someone else other than yourself if:
In addition to protecting yourself and others, you are allowed in California to fight back to protect your property if:
There is no duty to retreat if you confront an intruder inside your home
Under California’s Castle Doctrine, there is no duty to retreat from an intruder in your home. You can confront them and chase them away.
The Castle Doctrine even allows you to use deadly force inside your home when an intruder uses force to break in. This is because under Penal Code 198.5 PC, you are presumed to have a reasonable fear of imminent harm when someone breaks into your home. Therefore, committing homicide against the intruder is justified and excusable. 8
In California, you are legally justified in using deadly force in self-defense under certain circumstances:
Note that you can use deadly force in self-defense even if you were the original aggressor. This is provided you tried (but ultimately failed) to end the fight. 10
As discussed in the previous section, you can also use deadly force when an intruder breaks into your home (“the castle doctrine”).
Yes, but only if deadly force is necessary. Courts consider not only the officer’s actions but also the victim’s actions before the deadly blow. If police kill unnecessarily, they can face criminal charges. 11
Battery is the unlawful touching of another person. California’s self-defense laws allow you to act in self-defense of a battery if you believe you are in imminent danger, even if you do not fear imminent bodily harm. 12
Resisting arrest is when you resist, delay, or obstruct an officer while they are performing their official duties.
You will not be convicted of this crime if you acted in defense of yourself to an unlawful police procedure. Further, you will not be charged if you resisted against excessive force. 13
California domestic violence laws make it a California crime to harm, or threaten to harm, an intimate partner. Common charges include:
Self-defense in these situations is justified when there is imminent danger, and the force used in response to the assailant is reasonable. 14
Murder is the intentional killing of another with malice aforethought, defined as
If you are in imminent danger of being killed, you may take whatever measures that are necessary to prevent the killing. Deadly force is obviously expected and will be excused if reasonable and not excessive to prevent harm.
California’s Flannel Doctrine – also referred to as “imperfect self-defense” – applies when you kill another person based on an honest but unreasonable belief in the need to use deadly force in self-defense.
To go into effect, the Flannel Doctrine requires a showing that:
For more in-depth information on self-defense laws, refer to these scholarly articles:
The defendant acted in lawful (self-defense/ [or] defense of another) if:
1. The defendant reasonably believed that (he/she/ [or] someone else/ [or] ) was in imminent
danger of suffering bodily injury [or was in imminent danger of being touched unlawfully];
2. The defendant reasonably believed that the immediate use of force was necessary to defend against that danger;
AND
3. The defendant used no more force than was reasonably necessary to defend against that danger.
Any person using force intended or likely to cause death or great bodily injury within his or her residence shall be presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily injury to self, family, or a member of the household when that force is used against another person, not a member of the family or household, who unlawfully and forcibly enters or has unlawfully and forcibly entered the residence and the person using the force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry occurred. As used in this section, great bodily injury means a significant or substantial physical injury.
