Origin English common law, articulated by Sir Edward Coke in the 1628 Institutes of the Laws of England.
The castle doctrine is a common law and, in many US states, statutory principle that designates a person's home or other lawfully occupied place as a location where that person may use force, including deadly force, to defend against an intruder without a legal duty to retreat first. Its roots trace to English common law and the maxim that a man's house is his castle, articulated by Sir Edward Coke in his 1628 Institutes of the Laws of England; many US jurisdictions have since codified versions of the doctrine and, in some cases, extended it beyond the home under stand-your-ground statutes. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Origin PeriodEnglish common law, articulated by Sir Edward Coke in the 1628 Institutes of the Laws of England. 1 Core PrincipleA person lawfully within their own home or other legally occupied place has no duty to retreat before using reasonable, including deadly, force against an intruder who poses a threat. 1 Origin Period
Origin Period (category)Early Modern (1500-1800) 1 Classification
Doctrine Category Connections
Associated With
The castle doctrine and stand-your-ground statutes carve exceptions from the traditional duty to retreat.
In Area Of Law
Entity-backed identity for the doctrine category value this doctrine already carries as an enum fact, resolved to a doctrine entity by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The enum fact itself stays on the entity unchanged.
In Legal System
Source Castle Doctrine (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Castle Doctrine (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHistorical origin section
For a man's house is his castle, et domus sua cuique est tutissimum refugium.
- designates a person's abode... as a place in which that person has protections and immunities permitting the use of force to defend against an intruder
- In Legal System: Common Law
View the Source Frequently Asked Questions
What does the castle doctrine allow a person to do?
It permits force, up to deadly force, against an intruder in one's home or other legally occupied place, free from prosecution in certain circumstances.
The castle doctrine designates a person's abode or any legally occupied place, such as an automobile or a home, as a place in which that person has protections and immunities permitting one, in certain circumstances, to use force, up to and including deadly force, to defend oneself against an intruder, free from legal prosecution for the consequences of the force used.
Does the castle doctrine require a person to retreat first?
Not in the home: the doctrine lessens or removes the duty to retreat there.
Depending on the location, a person may have a duty to retreat to avoid violence if one can reasonably do so. Castle doctrines lessen the duty to retreat when an individual is assaulted within one's own home. In US jurisdictions where the castle doctrine applies, there is no duty to retreat before deadly force is used against an intruder by a person in their home or, in some jurisdictions, simply where the person can legally be.
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