State v. Jones

HEDRICK, Judge.

The defendant first contends that the trial court erred in refusing to charge the jury on defense of home. In North Carolina, the courts have recognized a substantive right of an individual to defend his home from attack that is a separate right from that of an individual to defend himself or his family. State v. Spruill, 225 N.C. 356, 34 S.E. 2d 142 (1945).

When a trespasser enters upon a man’s premises, makes an assault upon his dwelling, and attempts to force an entrance into his house in a manner such as would lead a reasonably prudent man to believe that the intruder…