Self Defense in Oklahoma Explained
Under Oklahoma law, you as a citizen have the legal right to protect yourself and others by reasonable force against immediate threat of harm. These rights are applicable wherever a threat may present itself – in your home, at your workplace, in your vehicle – as long as you have the legal right to be in that space. This is all part of Oklahoma’s “Stand Your Ground” laws, which state that you have no legal duty to retreat from a situation.
That said, there are conditions that must be met for self defense to be legally justified. For example, the amount of force used must be proportional to the threat and based on a reasonable certainty that harm is imminent. Also, if you initiate a confrontation and do not attempt to withdraw from it, you cannot claim self-defense.
If you can, however, prove that you had legal justification for defending yourself, this can go a long way toward creating a defense in a court of law.
Proving Self Defense
When facing criminal charges as the result of an incident where you were forced to defend yourself or others, it is vital to demonstrate to a judge or jury that you were within your legal rights to do so. Proving this, and subsequently being acquitted of those charges, is a matter of demonstrating the following:
Imminent Threat: That you or those around you faced an immediate and credible threat of harm, injury or death.
Proportionality: Your response that that threat was equivalent to the danger you faced. In cases where lethal force was used, this includes demonstrating that you had a reasonable belief your own life was in danger.
Reasonable Belief: That a reasonable person, placed in the situation you faced, would reach the same conclusion you did – that harm was imminent, and force was necessary for self-protection.
No Provocation: You were not the one who initiated the confrontation. If you were, you must demonstrate that you clearly attempted to retreat and communicate that.
All of these elements are in keeping with Oklahoma’s Stand Your Ground laws, granting you the legal right to respond to a threat with force without first attempting an escape from the situation. If each of these are met, you can be found not guilty.
Stand Your Ground Laws in Action
By granting citizens the legal right to defend themselves without first seeking retreat, Oklahoma’s Stand Your Ground laws provide broad protections for those facing a threat to themselves or others.
One example would be during a home invasion. If your home is broken into and the intruder threatens you or your family with harm, you are not required to retreat. And you can respond with force – even deadly force if required – without first having to retreat. In certain circumstances, you can potentially be protected by the same laws whether you were in your yard or your car, as both are considered your sanctuary.
The key difference between Oklahoma’s Stand Your Ground laws and the “Castle Doctrine” practiced in other states is that Stand Your Ground laws also protect you in public. In Oklahoma, if you are walking alone on the street and are confronted with the threat of violence, you’re allowed to defend yourself by any means necessary, without the need to first seek retreat.
Understanding the Law
The bulk of Oklahoma’s Stand Your Ground laws come from Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
The most germane section of the law in cases of home invasion is found in 21 OK Stat § 21-1289.25, covering “Physical or deadly force against an intruder.” This places broad protections over those who act in self-defense in their home, business, place of worship, or occupied vehicle.
This would protect you in a situation such as a carjacking, where you are parked in your vehicle and an intruder attempts to remove you by force. Because of the imminent threat, you would be justified in taking proportionate action against them, protected by the law against liability for any injury you cause them. But what if a proportionate response is a lethal response?
Another section, 21 OK Stat § 21-733, covers “Justifiable homicide by any person.” This section of the law illustrates several scenarios in which deadly force can be justified as necessary, including cases of imminent bodily harm or mortal danger, cases where a defendant is defending themselves or where another person is attempting to commit a felony against the defendant.
So, let’s say you’re home with your family one night when you hear breaking glass. Upon investigation, you find an intruder entering through a window, clearly armed. Fearing for your family’s safety, you retrieve your legal firearm and fire, killing the intruder. Because you had a reasonable belief that deadly force was necessary in that situation, you would be protected by the law from prosecution.
Of course, in order to be protected you must reasonably believe such force was necessary, as outlined in OUJI-CR 8-48 which covers justifiable use of non-deadly force. This puts forth that self defense is valid, “although the danger to personal security may not have been real, if a reasonable person, in the circumstances and from the viewpoint of the defendant, would reasonably have believed that he/she was in imminent danger of bodily harm.”
In this case, imagine you’re walking home late at night and you’re approached by an individual who threatens to pull a gun on you and demands money. To defend yourself, you brandish a container of pepper spray and incapacitate them, escaping with your life. Your belief that danger was imminent would be enough to protect you.
These laws work in concert to provide legal protection and immunity from prosecution to those who are forced to defend themselves. This includes protections for actions taken in defense of others and defense of personal property, as well as incorporating the central tenets of the Castle Doctrine and the “Make My Day” laws. Taken together, they assure that anyone who uses a justifiable amount of force in responding to a threat, as long as they are in a location they are legally allowed to occupy and have a reasonable belief that force was necessary, can’t potentially be prosecuted or sued for damages by their would-be attackers or their family.
Important Considerations
Despite the comprehensive nature of Oklahoma’s laws, prosecutors may still attempt to press charges against those who acted in self-defense. The two aspects of your case that will be given the most scrutiny are the reasonableness of your belief that force was necessary, and the imminence of the threat against you.
If they can find that the amount of force used was unreasonable – say, for example, the other person was merely arguing with you and did not pose a physical threat – they may try to proceed with charges. Likewise, if the prosecution can show that the danger you faced wasn’t imminent – that is to say you weren’t in immediate danger at the time of the incident – they may also leverage that against you.
Proven Success in Self-Defense Cases with The Edge Law Firm
Oklahoma’s Stand Your Ground laws offer significant protection in cases of self-defense, but they do not guarantee a favorable outcome for every case. If you are being investigated for a crime that was committed solely in defense of yourself, your property, or others, you should immediately retain an attorney to investigate, initiate legal actions, and demonstrate to the opposing side that you are indeed innocent.
At The Edge Law Firm, we have helped countless clients achieve the best outcomes by building a cohesive strategy around self-defense laws. We not only understand the law, we make it our guiding principle to understand your case. We meticulously scour every detail, every scrap of evidence, to defend your freedom. And make certain that the charges against you are acquitted or dismissed.
And it all starts with a free, no-obligation review of your case. From this first meeting, we begin building a comprehensive defense that has proven effective time and time again. Please submit your contact information below to get started.