What condition must be satisfied for the Castle Doctrine to apply?

The Castle Doctrine provides legal protection to individuals who use force, including deadly force, in self-defense when they are in their own home (or in certain cases, other legally protected spaces). For the Castle Doctrine to apply, the presence of a lawfully present deadly threat is crucial. This means that the person defending themselves must genuinely believe that there is an immediate threat to their life or serious bodily harm.

If the threat is deemed non-lethal or if the individual has not perceived it as leading to serious harm, the doctrine may not apply. Furthermore, adhering to principles of proportionality, the use of deadly force is justifiable only in response to a comparable level of threat. The need for a warning, or the defense of personal belongings, does not satisfy the conditions for invoking the Castle Doctrine, as the focus is particularly on the threat to personal safety within one's own dwelling. Thus, only the presence of a lawfully present deadly threat fully fulfills the necessary condition for the application of the Castle Doctrine.