New Jersey does not have a Stand Your Ground law. Instead, the state imposes a duty to retreat before using deadly force in self-defense, except in very limited circumstances. This means that if you are threatened with unlawful force in a public place, you must attempt to retreat and avoid the confrontation if you can do so with complete safety.
Only when retreat is not possible, and you reasonably believe that force is immediately necessary to protect yourself from imminent unlawful harm, may you use force in self-defense. The law requires that the amount of force used must be proportional to the threat faced; deadly force is only justified if you reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury.
An important exception to the duty to retreat is found in the so-called Castle Doctrine. Under this doctrine, if you are in your own home, you do not have to retreat before using force, including deadly force, provided you are not the initial aggressor and you reasonably believe the intruder intends to commit a violent crime or cause serious harm. This protection does not extend to situations where you are the one who started the confrontation or if you can safely retreat within your own home.
New Jersey’s self-defense laws also require that the belief in the necessity of force be reasonable, both from your own perspective and from that of an ordinary person in the same situation. The use of force must be immediately necessary to prevent imminent harm, and you cannot use excessive force or act in retaliation for a past threat.
New Jersey is not a Stand Your Ground state. The law requires retreat when safely possible, except inside your own home, and strictly limits the use of deadly force to situations where it is necessary to prevent death or serious injury. The law places a strong emphasis on proportionality, reasonableness, and immediacy in any claim of self-defense
Sources
[1] https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2006/A134/bill-text?f=A0500&n=134_I1
[2] https://www.lslawyers.com/self-defense.html
[3] https://bianchilawgroup.com/self-defense-under-new-jersey-law/
[4] https://www.njcourts.gov/sites/default/files/charges/justif001.pdf
[5] https://www.jlmarshallesq.com/blog/guide-to-the-new-jersey-self-defense-law-understanding-the-statute-and-its-parameters/
