Arizona’s “Stand Your Ground” law allows individuals to use physical or deadly force to protect themselves or others without a duty to retreat. This law is codified under Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) 13-404, ARS 13-405, and ARS 13-411.
Key Elements
- Reasonable Belief: Individuals must reasonably believe that using physical force is necessary to prevent unlawful physical force or harm.
- Imminent Threat: The threat of harm must be immediate and serious.
- Location: Arizona’s laws apply both inside and outside the home, extending to any place where one has a lawful right to be. This includes public and private places.
- No Duty to Retreat: Arizona does not require individuals to attempt to flee before using force to defend themselves. This departs from “duty to retreat” laws, which require individuals to try to escape a situation before resorting to self-defense, even in their own homes.
Use of Deadly ForceDeadly force is legally allowed when an individual reasonably believes it is immediately necessary to prevent serious physical injury or death. Arizona law explicitly permits the use of force to prevent certain crimes, such as burglary or kidnapping, where harm is imminent. The use of deadly physical force may also apply in defending others from unlawful physical force or threats.
Castle Doctrine
ARS 13-411 is often referred to as Arizona’s “Castle Doctrine,” which extends protections to individuals in their homes or other legally allowed spaces. The Castle Doctrine allows any resident of a home, business, or place that one is legally allowed to be to authorize the use of reasonable and/or deadly force to protect themselves from harm from an intruder of any kind.
Limitations
The law emphasizes that self-defense does not apply if the individual claiming it was engaged in an unlawful activity at the time. The defendant won’t be eligible for protections granted by stand your ground if it’s discovered that they did not need to resort to lethal means to protect themselves, if the means they used to defend themselves were excessive, if the weapon they used was prohibited in the state, or if they were trespassing or otherwise unlawfully present on the property. Self-defense is justified when it is immediately necessary to protect yourself or others from injury or death. Arizona’s self-defense laws allow individuals to claim self-defense if a reasonable person would believe that force was necessary to prevent harm.
Legal Consequences
Using force in self-defense under Stand Your Ground laws does not automatically exempt you from legal consequences. Law enforcement and prosecutors may still investigate the incident to determine whether your actions were justified. If charged, potential defenses include demonstrating that your actions were lawful under ARS 13-404, ARS 13-405, or ARS 13-411, proving that the force used was appropriate for the threat faced, and presenting evidence of the immediate threat, such as witness testimony or surveillance footage.
SOURCES
[1] https://guardianlawaz.com/stand-your-ground-laws-az/
[2] https://palestinilaw.com/about-arizonas-castle-doctrine-stand-your-ground-laws/
[3] https://www.alariddefense.com/blog/stand-your-ground-vs-duty-to-retreat-laws-what-is-the-law-in-arizona
[4] https://litwaklawgroup.com/stand-your-ground-laws-in-arizona/
