Smith v. State

Although this is a close case, I agree with Smith that, as requested by defense counsel, the trial court should have given the instruction concerning self-defense, as well as the defense of necessity,1 because the former includes the “castle doctrine.” The castle doctrine provides:

If the defendant was attacked in [his][her] own home or on [his][her] own premises, [he][she] had no duty to retreat and had the lawful right to stand [his][her] ground and meet force with force, even to the extent of using force likely to cause death or great bodily harm if it was necessary to prevent: (death or…