7/14/2023 0 Comments Defend your castle law nc![]() ![]() ![]() In short, SYG increases firearm homicides. They found no evidence for any of the other seven outcomes they considered. In their analysis, subsequently updated to 2020, Rand found evidence that SYG might result in more violent crime. “To disentangle these mechanisms, the ideal analyses would distinguish between the effects of stand-your-ground laws on criminal violence and the effects on violence committed in self-defense.” On the other hand, criminals, knowing that homeowners are potentially armed and legally "safe," may choose to arm themselves too, inadvertently increasing the use of firearms in homicides. A Rand analysis points out that SYG lowers the bar for using lethal force in self-defense and should, if effective, lower crime rates or switch criminals to less risky crimes. The question we must ask and answer is whether these policies, enacted as laws, are protective. In States where the Castle Doctrine is in effect, there is no duty to retreat you may “stand your ground.” The first law to explicitly state this was in Florida in 2005. In most instances, we invoke personal space in common areas, public or private. I would argue that equating personal space with our homes goes too far. (More on that can be found here.) More recently, it has been applied to our “personal space,” allowing a Castle Doctrine defense to shootings in parking lots. First to our cars in the 1930s when questions were raised about searches of cars during traffic stops. The definition of “home” has expanded over time. Like the immunity granted to law enforcement, the individual must feel threatened with bodily harm or death and may not have provoked the intruder’s threatening actions. This came about in 1985 when Colorado passed the first “Make my day” laws shielding individuals from criminal or civil liability for using force against a home invader, including deadly force. Today, despite its origins concerning disputed property, the Castle Doctrine is now an affirmative defense, mitigating the consequences for individuals charged with criminal homicide in the protection of their homes. It is easy to see how Manifest Destiny and our westward expansion would emphasize the right to defend over the necessity to retreat – the land grabs in the West were not always based upon deeds, as much as the squatter’s possession. Both ideas, along with the English colonists, came to America.Īmerica, too, had its period of enclosure in the mid-1800s. Common law provided two distinctly different, even contradictory approaches case law would determine when one was more pivotal than the other. Faced with a confrontation, the two sides had a duty to retreat and let the courts resolve the problem. But this resulted in another common law, the duty to retreat. You might call it self-help those on the receiving end might call it vigilantism. Of course, those now on the short side of the bargain felt that they might take matters into their own hands without the need to await adjudication. This was the origin of the Castle Doctrine. The idea of a man’s home being his castle comes from one side of that disagreement and allows a defense of one’s home, in this case preventing the enclosure of your land by another. Of course, one man’s informal agreement is another man’s seizure. The land was enclosed (fenced), often, but not always, by informal agreement. Starting at least a century earlier, the open common lands of England became increasingly privatized. To do that, we must return to merry Olde England in the 1600s. Before jumping into the study, it might be instructive to consider the origins of both the Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground (SYG).
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