Stand Your Ground or Duty to Retreat

[ManiacJoe]

3. Excellent set of questions.

The details depend on your state's laws. However, in general...

I have never heard one person question someone defending themselves, the questions seem to come from when does the need to self defend start, at what point does defense become offense, when does stand your ground become pursue.

Self defense is you defending yourself from an attack. Once the attack stops, so must the defense. If the attacker tries to run away, and you give chase, then you have moved from defender to attacker in most jurisdictions. Unfortunately for the defender, the attacker can repeatedly start and stop the attack, which requires the defender to start and stop the defense.

Also, how much force are you allowed to use? Is deadly force allowed when, non-deadly for could work? Are warning shots allowed? Does the sides need to be evenly armed?

You are allowed to use the same level of force for defense as is being used for the attack. While non-lethal force has multiple sub-levels, lethal force does not. "Ability, opportunity, jeopardy" is the standard used for judging legal lethal self defense. Once you are legally allowed to use lethal force, you still need to make the tactical decision on what seems best for the given situation.

Warning shots are illegal in most jurisdictions. The reasoning is this: If you are not shooting to kill/stop, you are not in fear of your life; since you are not in fear of your life, lethal force is not allowed. (Guns are always lethal force.)

Both sides do not need to be evenly armed, but the "level" of force in the defense must not exceed the "level" used in the attack. Once the attacker has moved into the lethal "level" (normally but not always: clubs, knives, guns), any type of lethal defense is allowed.

And, just what can you defend. Defending yourself, family or another person seems to not be in question. But, does defending personal property justify using deadly force? If so, does that extend to your neighbor’s personal property?

Defending yourself and defending third parties is a given, but can be held to different standards, like in WA state.

While most states do not allow for lethal force in the defense of property, some states do. The misunderstanding that most folks have is that the property crime often quickly becomes a crime against the person when the Bad Guy turns a weapon on the Good Guy.

Is the problem in the way the laws are written or is it in how the laws are applied?

The problem is normally the application by the cops and prosecutors, along with the ignorance of the reporters and readers of the new articles.