what is the castle doctrine Tag

Your home is the place where you should always feel safe, which is why crimes that include home invasions are so horrible. Lately, home invasions, the right to protect your home, and something California lawmakers refer to as Castle Doctrine have been getting a great deal of media attention. The reason these topics have been in the news so much is in large part to the number of alleged home invaders who have been killed by the homeowners/legal residents. For example, in July, there were three different incidents of home invasions that took a fatal turn in the Sacramento area. The right to protect yourself and your home when it’s illegally entered has been a part of California’s legal system since 1872. The law, which is Penal Code 198.5 PC, states:
    “Any person using force intended or likely to cause death or great bodily injury within his or her residence shall be presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily injury to self, family, or a member of the household when that force is used against another person, not a member of the family or household, who unlawfully and forcibly enters or has unlawfully and forcibly entered the residence and the person using the force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry occurred. As used in this section, great bodily injury means a significant or substantial physical injury.”
While this is referred to as castle doctrine by California’s lawmakers, in other parts of the country it’s referred to as the Stand Your Ground law. While castle doctrine allows you to protect your home, it doesn’t provide you with grounds to attack anyone who walks through your front door. In order to claim castle doctrine, you must:
  • Show that you had reason to believe that the person was illegally entering our home
  • That the intruder wasn’t a family member who had a reasonable right to enter your home
  • That you had reason to believe that the intruder intended to use force to either injure or kill you or a member of your family
14 March, 2022 /