Does Tennessee have a “castle doctrine”? Yes, to some extent, and no in other contexts.
The travesty of Hurricane Helene and the massive and widespread destruction that it caused has again raised the question of when can an individual to use deadly force to protect their home and property in Tennessee? Specifically, can you used deadly force to protect your home, your property, your stuff, your livestock or your inventory?
In Tennessee, the statutes are clear that you cannot use deadly force to protect anything other than human life and then only in circumstances where there is an imminent fear of death or serious bodily injury. You can in certain circumstances use non-lethal force to protect property but that eliminates many options for many individuals. However, Tennessee law classifies the act of brandishing a weapon such as a knife or firearm as the use of “deadly force” even if you do not fire the gun, shoot the thief or cut them with a knife.
But, what about the “castle doctrine”? Does that doctrine allow the use of deadly force if the thief, burglar or looter is in your home or business when they are attempting to steal? No.
In Tennessee the castle doctrine is found in Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-11-611 which is Tennessee’s statute that establishes the available defenses for the use of force (an assault) against another person. It is important to understand that self-defense in Tennessee is not a “right”, it is a defense to a criminal charges such as assault, assault with a deadly weapon and/or homicide.
But what does this have to do with the castle doctrine? In Tennessee, the castle doctrine is a set of factors that the Legislature has placed into a statute which, if these factors are established, will create a rebuttable presumption in a criminal investigation or trial that the individual is presumed to have had an imminent fear of death or serious bodily injury which would justify the use of deadly force to defend human life. But, there is no “right” of self-defense in Tennessee law – it is not right it is a legislatively fabricated statutory affirmative defense to a criminal charge. It is not an absolute immunity from being charged or forced to defend yourself in a trial. It is an evidentiary presumption that you have to raise and that the state can negate depending on the facts.
In Tennessee, the portion of the statute that contains the castle doctrine is in Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-11-611(c) which provides:
(c) Any person using force intended or likely to cause death or serious bodily injury within a residence, business, dwelling or vehicle is presumed to have held a reasonable belief of imminent death or serious bodily injury to self, family, a member of the household or a person visiting as an invited guest, when that force is used against another person, who unlawfully and forcibly enters or has unlawfully and forcibly entered the residence, business, dwelling or vehicle, and the person using defensive force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry occurred.
The castle doctrine, more appropriately called the Tennessee castle presumption, only applies when the individual is in certain locations – “a residence, business, dwelling or vehicle”. The terms business and dwelling are defined in the statute to include locations that the common dictionary definitions might not include.
The presumption arises only if a third party “unlawfully and forcibly” enters the protected location.
There are some additional provisions in the statute that will render the castle presumption inapplicable including whether the individual was using the location to commit a felony or a Class A misdemeanor.
Assuming that each of the statutory conditions precedent are met, the statute instructs that the person is “presumed to have held a reasonable belief of imminent death or serious bodily injury to self, family, a member of the household or a person visiting as an invited guest…” But, it is only a presumption. The government can introduce evidence or testimony to show that the individual using deadly force actually was not in imminent fear of death or serious bodily injury. Indeed, there is at least one appellate case where the evidence that the state used to disprove the claim of self-defense was the defendant’s own statements of how the shooting occurred.
While there are numerous statutory conditions that limit when the castle doctrine applies in a self-defense circumstance, the castle doctrine has nothing to do with your ability to protect your home, business or property. The presumption only addresses whether the use of deadly force was justified to protect human life.
The castle doctrine in Tennessee therefore does not provide a basis on which an individual can use deadly force, which includes brandishing a firearm, a knife, or even a club (e.g., a baton), to dissuade a looter or to threaten a trespasser.
If you think Tennessee law should allow an individual, a family or even a business owner to protect their home, business, livestock, inventory, and stuff from thieves, burglars and/or looters then it is important for you to talk to your Legislators and ask them to change the law so that citizens can protect not only threats to their lives but so that they can also protect their property interests. You must be determined because many of them apparently are skilled at telling you “I feel your pain” and then doing something else when you are not watching.
Indeed, Tennessee’s Legislature has tied the hands of victims by forcing them to stand by without the ability to protect their homes, lands, or the property from thieves, robbers, burglars and looters. To that extent, the Republican controlled General Assembly has victimized the innocent again. These laws should be changed so that citizens, even if not in a emergency, can effectively defend themselves, their lands, their homes and their properties from those who are willing to risk their lives to engage in criminal activity.
You can help change this in Tennessee. How?
– Learn who your House and Senate members are (get their cell phone numbers, personal emails, office phone numbers, office emails, fax numbers, etc.). You can look up your House and Senate members on the Tennessee Legislature’s website based on your street address.
– Let them know that you want the law changed in 2025 to allow crime victims to protect not only their lives but also their property by using deadly force if necessary.
– Let them know that you want the law changed in 2025 to allow crime victims and others to make “citizens arrest” with the use of force, if necessary.
– Let them know that you are tired of elected officials who claim to be conservatives but who will not fix Tennessee laws to allow the full scope of protections covered by the Second Amendment’s “shall not be infringed” mandate.
– And, don’t forget, tell others that you know about this misguided problem with Tennessee law and get them involved too.
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