Pennsylvania Self Defense Laws

Pennsylvania is one of many states with affirmative "stand your ground" self-defense laws. Pennsylvania law states that the use of force against another is justified when someone reasonably believes that it is necessary to prevent the use of unlawful force against them.

Nearly all states have some form of self-defense laws. The right to defend oneself, family, and property is an old concept in law and not controversial. Recent changes to self-defense laws, such as the "stand your ground" laws, have increased debate over using deadly force and the duty to retreat before defending yourself.

Pennsylvania Self-Defense Laws

Until recently, Pennsylvania's self-defense laws required a person to retreat before using deadly force. Following Florida's lead, Pennsylvania's legislature added language permitting the use of lethal force without a duty to retreat in some cases. The law also contains a presumption that such a defense is necessary, and the burden of proof is on the prosecutor to disprove the need for defense.

Stand Your Ground Laws

Pennsylvania's stand-your-ground law (Pa.C.S.A. § 505 (b)(2.3)) allows the use of proportional defense. You can use force equivalent to the force used against you. If the attacker punches you, retaliating with a hand grenade is not justified.

There is no duty to retreat when:

• You are not engaged in criminal activity
• You reasonably believe you are in imminent danger of death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping, or forcible sexual intercourse
• You are in a location you are lawfully allowed to be, your home or your vehicle
• The attacker displays a firearm or other deadly weapon

The Castle Doctrine

The "castle doctrine" is a holdover of English common law. In almost all states, you do not have to retreat from your home. The legal concept is that your home is your refuge, and you should not have to retreat from a safe refuge (Pa.C.S.A. § 505 (b)(2)(ii)).

Under Pennsylvania law, you may need to retreat from your place of work if attacked by a fellow employee.

Defense of Others

You can use the same degree of force to defend others (Pa.C.S.A. § 506) as you would for yourself. You can use proportional force in defense of another with no duty to retreat if you believe they are in imminent danger of serious bodily injury, kidnapping, forcible sexual intercourse, or death.

You must reasonably believe such force is necessary and that the person you seek to protect could use force under the circumstances. In other words, the situation must call for a forcible intervention, not merely be suspicious.

Defense of Property

You may use force to defend your own property (Pa.C.S.A. § 507):

• To prevent or end an unlawful trespass onto your own land
• To prevent trespass and the unlawful carrying away (theft) of movable property on your own land
• To make entry onto the land of another to immediately retake movable property

You can use deadly force if:

• There has been a forcible entry into your dwelling
• You do not believe or have reason to believe the entry was lawful and
• You do not believe or have reason to believe anything less than deadly force will end the unlawful entry

When You May Not Use Self-Defense

Even under Pennsylvania's stand-your-ground laws, there are times when you must retreat if you can and can't rely on the legal defense of self-protection.

• You can't use force to resist arrest by a law enforcement officer, even if you believe the arrest is unlawful
• You may not claim self-defense if you were the initial aggressor in the encounter
• In any situation other than those given in the statute, you have a duty to retreat if you can do so with complete safety (Pa.C.S.A. § 505 (b)(2)(ii)). In other words, if you are away from your home or workplace and not in fear of your life or bodily harm, you can't use force if you can retreat to a safer location without fighting.
• Use of force to protect property must be preceded by a request for the intruder to stop their interference unless such a request would be useless or dangerous
• Using force to prevent trespassing is unjustified if you know that you must put yourself in harm's way to repel the trespasser. In other words, if you are already in a safe location, you cannot leave your safe refuge to confront the trespasser.

Note: State laws are subject to change through the passage of new legislation, court rulings (including federal decisions), ballot initiatives, and other means. FindLaw strives to provide the most current information available. You should consult an attorney or conduct your own legal research to verify the state laws before making any legal decisions.

Pennsylvania Self-Defense Laws: Related Resources

• Pennsylvania Criminal Statute of Limitations Laws
• Pennsylvania Criminal Laws
• States that Have Stand Your Ground Laws
• May I Shoot an Intruder?

Get Legal Advice from a Pennsylvania Criminal Defense Attorney

If you must kill an intruder or attacker, you may face criminal charges, even if you acted in self defense. You need legal advice if your self-defense case is heading for trial. Talk to an experienced Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyer to protect your legal rights.