Scrofano Law PC
By Morgan Leigh
When can I use a firearm in self-defense? I can't count the number of times that I've been asked this very important question. So today I'm going to discuss the laws concerning firearms and self-defense to help our viewers understand Maryland law on this topic. My name is Morgan Lay. I'm a criminal defense attorney licensed to practice in Maryland and Washington, DC with Sano Law. PC
Definition of deadly force
Lesson one definition of deadly force. Deadly force is force that is reasonably calculated to cause serious bodily harm or death. Spoiler alert, firing a gun at someone is deadly force. So when can you use deadly force under Marilyn law? Well, there's four requirements. One that you actually believed you were in immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death from your assailant. Two, you had reasonable grounds for that belief. Three, you used no more force than necessary to defend yourself from the threatened or actual harm. And four, this one's a tug twister. You were not the aggressor unless you started the fight with non-deadly force, and the assailant escalated the fight with deadly force. Or you were the aggressor using deadly force and withdrew from the confrontation and made the withdrawal clear. Let's give an example. Jack and John decide to settle their dispute with an old fashioned fist fight outside the local bar.
When to use a gun?
They meet and begin to fight a few minutes into the fight. Jack realizes he's losing this battle, pulls out a handgun. Can he use it? Well, first, Jack and John were both initial aggressors because they mutually decided to fight, and they started that fight using non-deadly force. But since Jack was an initial aggressor and escalated the fight with deadly force, he's not legally justified in shooting John in self-defense. Let's change the facts such that Jack and John are having a verbal argument outside the bar when Jack pulls out a handgun. In response, John also pulls out a handgun and points it at Jack. At this point, Jack decides better to put the handgun back in. His waistband holds his arms up and makes it clear that he's done with the fight. Even though Jack was the initial aggressor using deadly force, he clearly withdrew from the confrontation.
So John does not have legal justification to use deadly force on him. Now, prior to using deadly Force, Maryland law imposes a duty to retreat, which brings us to lesson two, duty to retreat.
Make a reasonable effort to retreat
Maryland is not a stand your ground state. This means that prior to using deadly force, you must make a reasonable effort to retreat. Unless the avenue of retreat is unsafe, the avenue of retreat is unknown or you are in your home.
For example, Jane is alone in her office after hours when she hears glass breaking down the hall from office window, she can see into the hallway and observes an intruder who appears to be armed with a handgun. She grabs her own handgun from her desk drawer. Since she's not in her home, she has a duty to retreat unless she's unable to do so safely. There's an exit door at the opposite end of the hallway from where she heard the glass breaking.
Can she lawfully use her firearm in self-defense? Well, it depends. If she can safely exit through the door at the end of the hallway, then the law requires her to take that avenue of retreat before using deadly force. Now, what if there's also an armed intruder blocking the exit door? If Jane reasonably believes that she's in eminent danger of serious bodily harm or death, she's legally justified in using deadly force. Here we have two men committing an armed burglary in an office after hours, and Jane is alone During this threat, most courts and juries would probably find use of deadly force reasonable to escape this threat. So when can you use deadly force without having to retreat? This brings us to lesson three, defensive habitation, a k, a, the castle doctrine. When you are in your home, you do not have a duty to retreat.
The idea is that your home is your retreat or your castle. You must still meet all of the other requirements to use deadly force. You must still reasonably believe that you are in immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death and use no more force than necessary. This brings us to four deadly force can never be used to protect property. In Maryland. In Maryland, deadly force cannot be used to protect property regardless of how expensive the property is. This is because Maryland law takes the position that human life is more valuable than property. If you see an unarmed teenager running out of your house with your laptop, you are not legally justified in shooting them. It doesn't matter the cost of the property. You can't shoot someone that's stealing your Maserati. However, if you're held up at gunpoint and ordered out of your car, this is different because you reasonably believe that you are in immediate danger of serious bodily harm or death. So in conclusion, I hope that you found this video helpful in understanding when deadly force can be used in Maryland to see other videos on similar topics like this video and subscribe to Scrofano Law PC's, YouTube channel.
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