Duty to Retreat

The duty to retreat is a rule found in the self-defense law of some jurisdictions requiring a person who is threatened to retreat to a place of safety, if that is possible, rather than use force against the attacker. Where it applies, a defendant claiming self-defense must show that retreat was not a safe option, or that there was not enough time to retreat, before use of force is considered justified. It stands opposed to stand your ground laws, which let a person use defensive force without first attempting to retreat, and to the castle doctrine, under which there is no duty to retreat inside a home or workplace one occupies; most jurisdictions in the United States have adopted one of those two approaches rather than a strict duty to retreat. English law takes a somewhat different approach, asking more broadly whether the response of the defendant was reasonable given the circumstances rather than imposing a fixed retreat requirement, recognizing that some threats leave no real chance to retreat at all.