Also known as: self-defense · self defence · selfdefense · self-defence
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A legal privilege allowing a person to use reasonable force to protect against imminent unprivileged harmful or offensive contact. The privilege does not extend to force intended or likely to cause death or serious bodily harm beyond what the actor reasonably believes necessary for protection.
Doris Duffy keeps a handgun in her apartment for protection. A city ordinance bans all handguns in residences and requires any other firearms to be disassembled or secured with digital locks at all times. Doris sues, claiming the rules prevent immediate access to a functional firearm when threatened at home. The court invalidates the ordinance because it eliminates the practical ability to use arms for self-defense in the dwelling.
Dwight Dorsey confronts an intruder who advances aggressively. Believing deadly force is required, Dorsey shoots and kills the intruder. Evidence later shows the intruder was unarmed. In a jurisdiction recognizing the rule, Dorsey's honest but unreasonable belief reduces the charge from murder to voluntary manslaughter.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
David Dawson stands his ground when an assailant swings a fist. Dawson could have stepped aside safely but instead blocks the blow with reasonable force. The privilege protects Dawson even though retreat was possible, because he need not surrender his position to avoid the confrontation.
Davenport Pharmaceuticals sues its former law firm for alleged overbilling. The firm discloses client communications necessary to show the billing was proper and the representation adequate. The self-defense exception permits the disclosure because the client placed the representation at issue.
Deanna Davenport faces a shove from an angry neighbor. She responds by drawing and firing a pistol. Because the response exceeds what she reasonably believes necessary to repel the shove, the privilege does not protect the use of deadly force.
Dustin Donovan raises a bat toward an attacker who is charging with a knife. The bat is not swung but creates immediate fear of contact. The act remains privileged because it is intended only to deter the attack and does not exceed the force needed to generate that apprehension.
In some jurisdictions a duty to retreat exists before deadly force may be used, but the Restatement formulation of the privilege does not impose retreat when the actor reasonably believes force is necessary. The privilege remains available even if the actor could have avoided the encounter by retreating or complying with an unlawful command.
At common law in some jurisdictions an honest though unreasonable belief that deadly force is necessary in self-defense mitigates the offense to voluntary manslaughter. The belief must be sincere, but the law does not require it to be objectively reasonable.
The Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense in the home. A total ban on handguns or a requirement that firearms be rendered inoperable prevents the core right and is unconstitutional.
…then obtained the admission of shooting, the interrogator is advised to refer to circumstantial evidence which negates the self-defense explanation. This should enable him to secure the entire story. One text notes that "Even if he fails to do so, the inconsistency between the subject's original denial of the shooting and…