How does PA's castle doctrine work?

[Will3212]

Hi, I'm new to PA and had some questions about PA's castle doctrine law. I know PA has a stand your ground law and you can use deadly force outside your home if you're confronted with a weapon. When you are in your house and an intruder who you did not provoke breaks your window and attempts to climb in can you shoot on the spot? or does there have to be certain conditions that have to be met, like he has to be charging at you, must display a weapon, etc.? Is the fact that he broke your window/kicked down your door and tries to come in enough to shoot him?

[Bang]

This should be an interesting discussion, since the law these days seems to have minor affect on reality. Example: (admittedly paraphrased)(Penna) The right of the people to bear arms shall not be questioned, and federally, "shall not be infringed" obviously doesn't mean what it says.

Shoot coming through the window? Better call 911 FIRST. At least that way you can embarrass the DA by claiming you waited as long as you could but time was of the essence.

[Gman106]

There is lots of discussion and reference material on this subject here on this board, so suggest you do your due diligence and research. Here is the statute. Essentially, if someone unlawfully attempts to gain entry to one's occupied home (or business or vehicle), one may assume the actor has bad intent. See para 2.5. Is it the drunk neighbor kid who thought he was sneaking back home through his bedroom window? If you go guns a-blazing you must deal with the aftermath, even if deadly force was justified under the law.

§ 505. Use of force in self-protection.
(a) Use of force justifiable for protection of the person.--The use of force upon or toward another person is justifiable when the actor believes that such force is immediately necessary for the purpose of protecting himself against the use of unlawful force by such other person on the present occasion.
(b) Limitations on justifying necessity for use of force.--
(1) The use of force is not justifiable under this section:
(i) to resist an arrest which the actor knows is being made by a peace officer, although the arrest is unlawful; or
(ii) to resist force used by the occupier or possessor of property or by another person on his behalf, where the actor knows that the person using the force is doing so under a claim of right to protect the property, except that this limitation shall not apply if:
(A) the actor is a public officer acting in the performance of his duties or a person lawfully assisting him therein or a person making or assisting in a lawful arrest;
(B) the actor has been unlawfully dispossessed of the property and is making a reentry or recaption justified by section 507 of this title (relating to use of force for the protection of property); or
(C) the actor believes that such force is necessary to protect himself against death or serious bodily injury.
(2) The use of deadly force is not justifiable under this section unless the actor believes that such force is necessary to protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat; nor is it justifiable if:
(i) the actor, with the intent of causing death or serious bodily injury, provoked the use of force against himself in the same encounter; or
(ii) the actor knows that he can avoid the necessity of using such force with complete safety by retreating, except the actor is not obliged to retreat from his dwelling or place of work, unless he was the initial aggressor or is assailed in his place of work by another person whose place of work the actor knows it to be.
(2.1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2.2), an actor is presumed to have a reasonable belief that deadly force is immediately necessary to protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat if both of the following conditions exist:
(i) The person against whom the force is used is in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering, or has unlawfully and forcefully entered and is present within, a dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle; or the person against whom the force is used is or is attempting to unlawfully and forcefully remove another against that other's will from the dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle.
(ii) The actor knows or has reason to believe that the unlawful and forceful entry or act is occurring or has occurred.
(2.2) The presumption set forth in paragraph (2.1) does not apply if:
(i) the person against whom the force is used has the right to be in or is a lawful resident of the dwelling, residence or vehicle, such as an owner or lessee;
(ii) the person sought to be removed is a child or grandchild or is otherwise in the lawful custody or under the lawful guardianship of the person against whom the protective force is used;
(iii) the actor is engaged in a criminal activity or is using the dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle to further a criminal activity; or
(iv) the person against whom the force is used is a peace officer acting in the performance of his official duties and the actor using force knew or reasonably should have known that the person was a peace officer.
(2.3) An actor who is not engaged in a criminal activity, who is not in illegal possession of a firearm and who is attacked in any place where the actor would have a duty to retreat under paragraph (2)(ii) has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his ground and use force, including deadly force, if:
(i) the actor has a right to be in the place where he was attacked;
(ii) the actor believes it is immediately necessary to do so to protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse by force or threat; and
(iii) the person against whom the force is used displays or otherwise uses:
(A) a firearm or replica of a firearm as defined in 42 Pa.C.S. § 9712 (relating to sentences for offenses committed with firearms); or
(B) any other weapon readily or apparently capable of lethal use.
(2.4) The exception to the duty to retreat set forth under paragraph (2.3) does not apply if the person against whom the force is used is a peace officer acting in the performance of his official duties and the actor using force knew or reasonably should have known that the person was a peace officer.
(2.5) Unless one of the exceptions under paragraph (2.2) applies, a person who unlawfully and by force enters or attempts to enter an actor's dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle or removes or attempts to remove another against that other's will from the actor's dwelling, residence or occupied vehicle is presumed to be doing so with the intent to commit:
(i) an act resulting in death or serious bodily injury; or
(ii) kidnapping or sexual intercourse by force or threat.
(2.6) A public officer justified in using force in the performance of his duties or a person justified in using force in his assistance or a person justified in using force in making an arrest or preventing an escape is not obliged to desist from efforts to perform such duty, effect such arrest or prevent such escape because of resistance or threatened resistance by or on behalf of the person against whom such action is directed.
(3) Except as otherwise required by this subsection, a person employing protective force may estimate the necessity thereof under the circumstances as he believes them to be when the force is used, without retreating, surrendering possession, doing any other act which he has no legal duty to do or abstaining from any lawful action.
(c) Use of confinement as protective force.--The justification afforded by this section extends to the use of confinement as protective force only if the actor takes all reasonable measures to terminate the confinement as soon as he knows that he safely can, unless the person confined has been arrested on a charge of crime.
(d) Definition.--As used in this section, the term "criminal activity" means conduct which is a misdemeanor or felony, is not justifiable under this chapter and is related to the confrontation between an actor and the person against whom force is used.
(June 28, 2011, P.L.48, No.10, eff. 60 days)

2011 Amendment. Act 10 amended subsec. (b) and added subsec. (d). See the preamble to Act 10 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating to legislative findings.
Cross References. Section 505 is referred to in section 506 of this title; section 6304 of Title 23 (Domestic Relations); section 8340.2 of Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure).

[GeneCC]

Wonder what the case law has shown since the law was passed? We have to review this with a practicing attorney to see if there were any "what ifs" and "where fors" that might change how the law is applied to us in self defense situations.


Free hint - saying "I was scared" is not a Get Out of Jail Free Card. Showing circumstances that a would make members of a Jury scared too helps a lot but is not a guarantee.

[WhiteFeather]

Hi, I'm new to PA and had some questions about PA's castle doctrine law. I know PA has a stand your ground law and you can use deadly force outside your home if you're confronted with a weapon. When you are in your house and an intruder who you did not provoke breaks your window and attempts to climb in can you shoot on the spot? or does there have to be certain conditions that have to be met, like he has to be charging at you, must display a weapon, etc.? Is the fact that he broke your window/kicked down your door and tries to come in enough to shoot him?

Please take the time to review the first few post in this this thread of HB 40 = Act 10 of 2011

Castle Doctrine 2011-12 session Activist effort – Please Help
http://forum.pafoa.org/pennsylvania-...ease-help.html

for a legalizee to English translation of Stand Your Ground & Castle Doctrine keep in mind there is NO Disparity of Force in PA.

This only legislation only provide you the ability to use self defense to stop a threat to your life or others lives not to protect property, there is a whole other set of complicated laws that govern property protection.

Your lack of understanding of the complicated use of self defense laws can be the most expense mistake you ever make in your life IF you fail to understand the concepts in that thread.

Many on PAFOA spend numerous years to provide this upgrade to the law, PLEASE take some time to read that thread so you know the cost and what is not covered for self defense of life.

Welcome to PA and remember PA is not really a gun friendly state its just our bordering states to the east, north , mostly south are worse (NJ, Del, NY, MD). What sets PA apart, is the state based groups and the few individuals that are willing to fight the battles to keep them from taking more and or limited the damage of the scope with more gun control laws.

That and that enough gun owners get involved in the election / political process to limit the anti-gunner holding elected office so that don't have the votes for passage.

[JenniferG]

Try not to shoot them in the back while they're climbing out the window.

[DavidTM]

Try not to shoot them in the back while they're climbing out the window.

Honest....he spun as soon as I pulled the trigger. Now, ask my attorney.

[Hamltnblue]

When in doubt bury him under the basement floor.

[Thomas Paine]

listen to WhiteFeather.

[PAMedic=F|A=]

What Whitefeather said:

The one of the "small groups of hardworking people"

he mentioned is Firearms Owners Against Crime: https://foac-pac.org/

They have done amazing work, and need our support.