Have you been involved in a violent altercation, and now you’re accused of assault or even murder? Do you believe you acted in self-defense? Do you hope you can use a self-defense argument to avoid jail time for the confrontation? To know whether this is a reasonable defense, you must understand how self-defense laws work in Colorado.
Explore general information about self-defense laws. If you have specific questions relevant to your case and want to talk to an assault defense lawyer, please call (970) 614-0913 for a free consultation with experienced Colorado criminal defense attorney M. Colin Bresee.
3 Situations Where Self-Defense Is Allowed
Colorado law allows you to argue self-defense in three situations:
- You are defending a person from physical violence. The person could be yourself or another person. The law requires that you only use the amount of force that you reasonably believe is necessary for defense. Deadly force is only permitted if you think that you or another person is in imminent danger of death, great bodily injury, kidnapping, sexual assault, or similar serious crimes.
- You are defending yourself within your own residence. In this situation, you can use deadly force inside your residence as long as you have a reasonable belief the intruder might be committing a crime that could include physical force.
- You are defending property—either yours or someone else’s. You can use reasonable and appropriate force to prevent theft, criminal mischief, and similar offenses. In any situation not involving your residence, you are only allowed to use deadly force to defend yourself or another person or if you believe the person is attempting to commit first-degree arson.
These are listed in Colorado Revised Statutes (CRS) 18-1-704 through 18-1-706. These situations seem relatively clear. However, there is one more wrinkle. You cannot argue self-defense if you were the person who initiated the violent confrontation unless you first communicated your attempt to stop the confrontation and attempted to physically distance yourself from the threat.
Colorado Allows You to Stand Your Ground
One important aspect of Colorado’s self-defense laws is that this is a “stand your ground” state. This means you do not have a duty to retreat from a violent confrontation before using physical force in your defense.
There are some limitations to the stand-your-ground law. If you are the one who started a violent confrontation, you do have a duty to attempt to retreat. If you don’t, you cannot argue self-defense. In addition, moving forward aggressively can be construed as provocation or escalation, so it’s important to take the stand-your-ground part literally.
Defending Your Home Under “Make My Day” Law
As mentioned above, the law gives wide latitude to use force, including deadly force, when someone enters your house illegally. This is called the Make My Day law, and it allows people to use force to defend themselves, including deadly force, whenever an intruder enters their home. The law derives from the Castle Doctrine, which to the State of Colorado, means that homeowners have the right to expect “absolute safety” in their homes.
The use of deadly force is justified if you think someone has entered your home to cause serious bodily injury, commit burglary, or perpetrate another crime with the possibility of physical violence against yourself or another person. Note that unlawful entry alone is not sufficient justification for deadly force in this case.
However, the law is clear: its self-defense provisions are only in effect when someone is actually in your residence. Someone who is outside your residence, such as on the porch or in the yard, doesn’t fall under the provisions of “make my day.” Unless a person is actually inside your house at the time you act, then you are not protected under this statute.
Limits of Defending Property
Including the “make my day” law, the situations where you can make a self-defense claim when you’re acting to stop a property crime include:
- The intruder is in your home
- You believe the person is going to use violence against a person or property in a business or residence
- You believe the person is going to commit robbery, burglary, or arson
In these situations, you are permitted to argue for self-defense, though in most cases, you can only justifiably use reasonable and appropriate force for self-defense.
When Can You Use Deadly Force in Self-Defense?
In most cases, arguing for self-defense only works if you can prove that you used reasonable and appropriate force. This means that you have to use only the amount of force reasonably necessary to stop an attacker.
Except when the “make my day” law applies, you can only use deadly physical force if you believe that a lesser degree of force is inadequate to protect yourself, others, or property, and you believe or have reasonable ground to believe that:
- You or another person is in imminent danger of being killed or suffering serious bodily harm
- The person you attack is about to use physical force against an occupant of a dwelling or business establishment while committing burglary
- The person you attack is about to commit arson, kidnapping, robbery, sexual assault, or serious assault
In these cases, the use of lethal force is justified. Otherwise, it might be considered excessive force, invalidating your self-defense argument.
Burden of Proof for Self-Defense
Self-defense is an affirmative defense. This means that if you attempt to argue self-defense when accused of assault or murder, you must prove certain facts for your defense to be successful. You must prove one of the following:
- You were threatened or felt threatened by someone committing a crime other than trespassing in your dwelling
- You had a legal right to be at the location of the incident AND you were not the aggressor AND you or someone else was under threat of harm AND the force you used was reasonable to stop the attacker
- The attacker threatened property other than your dwelling AND the force you used was reasonable to stop the attacker
- You had a legal right to be at the location of the incident AND you or someone else was under threat of harm AND the force you used was appropriate AND you were the initial aggressor BUT you withdrew from the encounter AND effectively communicated your intent to leave the situation
Self-defense is never an acceptable defense when you and another person agree to some form of personal combat, such as a public fight or duel. You also cannot use it in cases of violence based on the discovery of a victim’s actual or perceived gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
Self-Defense in Domestic Violence Situations
Arguing self-defense in a domestic violence case is more complicated than violence between strangers or casual acquaintances. In these cases, it’s not always important who started a particular fight or argument or who attacked first in this instance.
Instead, it’s often more important to establish that a pattern of violence existed in which one person was consistently aggressive, creating a reasonable fear on the part of the other individual.
Mr. Bresee has helped many people beat criminal charges with a self-defense strategy. Whether you were arrested or not, you may be in danger of serious charges unless you start building your self-defense case carefully. Mr. Bresee can help you take these steps so you can show the truth of the situation to a jury at trial.
Present Your Self-Defense Argument in Colorado Courts
If you are charged with a violent offense but believe you were acting in self-defense, criminal defense lawyer M. Colin Bresee can help you present your defense in court. We believe everyone deserves the best defense possible under the law, which is why we offer free consultations and payment plans, so the cost won’t keep you from getting the defense you need.
Please call (970) 614-0913 immediately to schedule a free consultation to learn how Mr. Bresee can defend you from violent charges.
Mr. Bresee helps defendants protect their rights and their freedom in the following areas:
- Arapahoe County, including Aurora, Centennial, Englewood, Greenwood Village, and Littleton
- Adams County, including Thornton and Westminster
- Denver County
- Douglas County, including Castle Rock, Highlands Ranch, and Parker
- El Paso County, including Colorado Springs and Security-Widefield
- Gilpin County, including Central City
- Jefferson County, including Arvada and Lakewood
- Weld County, including Greeley and Longmont
