STANDING YOUR GROUND IN TENNESSEE: EXPLAINING THE EXPANSION OF A NATIONAL SELF-DEFENSE TREND IN TENNESSEE LAW

Abstract

In the last two decades a legal trend known as "Stand Your Ground" has emerged, serving to expand on an English common law rule known as the "Castle doctrine." Stand Your Ground laws negate the Castle doctrine's central concept of a "duty to retreat" before the use of lethal force to protect oneself. This thesis will compare national laws, court cases, and trends to Tennessee and examine if "Stand Your Ground" laws have been found to affect violent crime and homicides.