Also known as: duty to retreat rule · duty to retreat · duty-to-retreat · retreat doctrine · duty of retreat
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A principle of self-defense law under which a person who seeks to use deadly force must first retreat as far as reasonably possible if retreat can be accomplished in complete safety. The obligation applies only in jurisdictions following the traditional common law approach and yields to recognized exceptions such as an attack inside the defender's own dwelling.
Diana Delgado awoke in her duplex bedroom to find an intruder climbing through the window. She forced the intruder back onto the attached front porch, where a struggle continued. Grabbing a wrench, she struck the intruder fatally. In a duty-to-retreat jurisdiction the prosecution cannot defeat her self-defense claim by arguing she should have withdrawn further into the unit.
Derek Douglas confronted a coworker in an open service bay about missing parts. The coworker left, then returned brandishing a ratchet wrench and advancing with threats. Derek struck the coworker once with a tire iron, causing him to drop the wrench and retreat. Because a safe exit remained available and the encounter occurred at a shared workplace rather than a dwelling, the duty-to-retreat rule barred justification.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Dorothy Daniels stood in her remote barn when a neighbor advanced with a raised pitchfork after an argument over crop theft. An open exit lay directly behind her that she could reach without danger. She fired a rifle instead, killing the neighbor. The duty-to-retreat rule required her to use the safe exit before employing deadly force, so self-defense was unavailable.
No. The castle doctrine exception eliminates any duty to retreat when the confrontation takes place in the defender's dwelling, even if a safe exit exists. The rule focuses on the location of the attack rather than the availability of alternative routes.
Supporting sources
The defendant must demonstrate that retreat could have been accomplished without exposing the defender or others to additional danger. If any risk of harm would arise from withdrawing, the duty does not arise.
Supporting sources
Yes, provided the space functions as the defender's exclusive residence with personal belongings and direct bedroom access. Courts examine functional residential use rather than bare legal title or incidental workplace connections.
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It arises in public or shared spaces whenever deadly force is contemplated and a completely safe avenue of withdrawal is known and available. The defender must use that route rather than resort to deadly force.
Supporting sources
…might repel the attempt by force, and was under no obligation to retreat if the deceased attacked him with a knife. The general duty to retreat instead of killing when attacked was not touched upon in these cases. Whart. on Homicide, § 485. 6. The fourteenth assignment is to the following language of the court upon the subject of…