§ 12.1-05-06 — Use of force in defense of premises and property

Force is justified if it is used to prevent or terminate an unlawful entry or other trespass in or
upon premises, or to prevent an unlawful carrying away or damaging of property.
12.1-05-07. Limits on the use of force - Excessive force - Deadly force.
1. An individual is not justified in using more force than is necessary and appropriate
under the circumstances.

2. Deadly force is justified in the following instances:
a. When it is expressly authorized by law or occurs in the lawful conduct of war.
b. When used in lawful self-defense, or in lawful defense of others, if such force is
necessary to protect the actor or anyone else against death, serious bodily injury,
or the commission of a felony involving violence. The use of deadly force is not
justified if it can be avoided, with safety to the actor and others, by retreat or other
conduct involving minimal interference with the freedom of the individual
menaced. An individual seeking to protect another individual must, before using
deadly force, try to cause the other individual to retreat, or otherwise comply with
the requirements of this provision, if safety can be obtained thereby. However, the
duty to retreat or avoid force does not apply under the following circumstances:
(1) A public servant justified in using force in the performance of the public
servant's duties or an individual justified in using force in assisting the public
servant need not desist from the public servant's or individual's efforts
because of resistance or threatened resistance by or on behalf of the other
individual against whom the public servant's or individual's action is directed;
and
(2) An individual who is not engaged in an unlawful activity that gives rise to the
need for the use of deadly force and has not provoked the individual against
whom the deadly force is used, unless the circumstances in subdivision b of
subsection 2 of section 12.1-05-03 apply, is not required to retreat within or
from any place the individual otherwise is legally allowed to be.
c. When used by an individual in possession or control of a dwelling, place of work,
motor vehicle, or an occupied motor home or travel trailer as defined in section
39-01-01, or by an individual who is licensed or privileged to be there, if the force
is necessary to prevent commission of arson, burglary, robbery, or a felony
involving violence upon or in the dwelling, place of work, motor vehicle, or
occupied motor home or travel trailer, and the use of force other than deadly force
for these purposes would expose any individual to substantial danger of serious
bodily injury.
d. When used by a public servant authorized to effect arrests or prevent escapes, if
the force is necessary to effect an arrest or to prevent the escape from custody of
an individual who has committed or attempted to commit a felony involving
violence, or is attempting to escape by the use of a deadly weapon, or has
otherwise indicated that the individual is likely to endanger human life or to inflict
serious bodily injury unless apprehended without delay.
e. When used by a guard or other public servant, if the force is necessary to prevent
the escape of a prisoner from a detention facility, unless the guard or public
servant knows that the prisoner is not an individual as described in subdivision d.
A detention facility is any place used for the confinement, pursuant to a court
order, of an individual charged with or convicted of an offense, charged with being
or adjudicated a juvenile delinquent, held for extradition, or otherwise confined
under court order.
f. When used by a duly licensed physician, or an individual acting at the physician's
direction, if the force is necessary to administer a recognized form of treatment to
promote the physical or mental health of a patient and if the treatment is
administered in an emergency; with the consent of the patient, or, if the patient is
a minor or an incompetent person, with the consent of the patient's parent,
guardian, or other person entrusted with the patient's care and supervision; or by
order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
g. When used by an individual who is directed or authorized by a public servant, and
who does not know that the public servant is not authorized to use deadly force
under the circumstances.