NC · jury_instructions

N.C.P.I.—Crim. 308.10

SELF-DEFENSE, RETREAT—INCLUDING HOMICIDE (TO BE USED FOLLOWING THE SELF-DEFENSE INSTRUCTIONS WHERE RETREAT IS IN ISSUE).

activein force · 2022-06-01 – presentas-observed

NOTE WELL: This instruction is to be used if the

evidence shows that the defendant was at a place

where the defendant had a lawful right to be, including

the defendant’s own home1 or premises, the

defendant’s place of residence, the defendant’s

workplace, or in the defendant’s motor vehicle, when

the assault on the defendant occurred.2

NOTE WELL: In the absence of a concern that the jury

would believe that the nature of the assault that the

victim made upon the defendant had some bearing

upon the extent to which the defendant attacked in the

defendant’s own home has a duty to retreat before

exercising the right to self-defense, a trial court need

not instruct that the defendant could stand the

defendant’s ground and repel with force “regardless of

the character of the assault.” See State v. Benner,

2022-NCSC-28, ¶ 29.3

If the defendant was not the aggressor4 and the defendant was [in

the defendant's own home]5 [on the defendant's own premises] [in the

defendant’s place of residence] [at the defendant’s workplace]6 [in the

defendant’s motor vehicle]7 [at a place the defendant had a lawful right

to be], the defendant could stand the defendant's ground and repel force

with force regardless of the character of the assault being made upon the

defendant. However, the defendant would not be excused if the

defendant used excessive force.

History

N.C.P.I.—Crim. 308.10 (Replacement June 2022). N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 14-51.2(f), 14-51.3(a). Prepared by the North Carolina Conference of Superior Court Judges' Committee on Pattern Jury Instructions, assisted by the UNC School of Government; published by the School of Government.

Provenance

Source: sog.unc.edu
Retrieved: 2026-09-25
Edition: 2026-09-24
Content hash: 5682490026aa0ac9e5af16bf2e8f43299c5c9d4bccf4fbdbca74f64b5dff4209

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