duty to retreat

noun

law

: a duty to use reasonable efforts to escape or retreat from an attacker before using force to defend oneself

When threatened by an aggressor outside their homes, people in New York, under current law, have a duty to retreat—if possible—before resorting to force.

—Joe Mahoney

[Samuel L.] Davis filed a motion Monday asking a judge to prohibit the commonwealth from arguing Fisher had a duty to retreat. Davis contends Fisher was acting in self-defense, and he expects prosecutors may argue that Fisher's use of force was unreasonable and unlawful because he did not first attempt to retreat.

—Susy Kelly

Examples of duty to retreat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The doctrine still maintains a duty to retreat. 2007: No permits required The state does away with its permit-to-purchase handgun law in 2007, which was established in 1921. —Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 16 Feb. 2024

Missouri is one of at least 28 states with no duty to retreat. —USA TODAY, 1 Sep. 2023

In Maryland, that means that a guard faced with a threat has a duty to retreat before using force against another person. —Alex Mann, Baltimore Sun, 31 Aug. 2023

Banks said the shooter neglected multiple opportunities to run away, thus failing his legal duty to retreat before firing. —Alex Mann, Baltimore Sun, 24 July 2023

Where is the force justified? These elements in state law fall under the Castle Doctrine — removing the duty to retreat in one’s home, workplace or vehicle. —Zaeem Shaikh, Dallas News, 24 Apr. 2023

New York is not one of those states; under New York law, homeowners have a duty to retreat. —Joseph Wilkinson New York Daily News (tns), al, 18 Apr. 2023

Under those circumstances, Brennan said, Dixon was not the initial aggressor and had no duty to retreat before using force to defend himself. —Dan Morse, Washington Post, 18 Feb. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1878, in the meaning defined above