How do self defense laws work in Maryland?

Maryland self defense laws provide guidance about the situations in which a person who has been attacked can defend themselves. In some cases, a person can even kill someone else in self-defense. read more

A lot of Maryland’s self defense laws are from common law(rulings that pertain to self defense) rather than statutes(legislated rules). Inside your home,you have the basic Castle rule: using reasonable force to defend yourself and your property. read more

This is further complicated by the fact that many of the rules relating to self defense are part of the common law, law developed over the course of time from the rulings of judges, as opposed to law embodied in statutes, and don't appear in Maryland law books. As such, self defense claims can be difficult to litigate. read more

The State of Maryland and every other State for that matter, absolutely does recognize the legal doctrines known to every first grader as Self-Defense and Defense of Others. The right of people to defend themselves against violent attack goes back at least to English common law and probably as long as people have gathered together in organized societies. read more