Self Defense
N.J.S.A. 2C:3-4 — force believed immediately necessary, deadly force only against death or serious harm
In New Jersey, force against another person is justifiable when the person using it reasonably believes it immediately necessary to protect themselves against that person's use of unlawful force on the present occasion.
Not against an arrest by an officer. Force is not justifiable to resist an arrest the person knows is being made by a peace officer performing their duties, even if the arrest is unlawful, unless the officer uses unlawful force to make it.
Deadly force is not justifiable unless the person reasonably believes it necessary to protect against death or serious bodily harm. It is not justifiable where the person provoked the force in the same encounter intending to cause death or serious harm, or knows the necessity can be avoided with complete safety by retreating, by giving up a thing to someone claiming a right to it, or by complying with a demand to stop doing something there is no duty to do.
No retreat from one's own dwelling. A person is not obliged to retreat from their dwelling, unless they were the initial aggressor. Force, including deadly force, against an intruder unlawfully in a dwelling is justifiable when the person reasonably believes it immediately necessary to protect themselves or others in the dwelling against unlawful force on the present occasion.
Defense of others and of property are in their own sections, and the dwelling provision sets out when a belief counts as reasonable. Whether force was justified in a given case is a question for a court and for a licensed New Jersey attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- N.J.S.A. 2C:3-4 — Use of force in self-protection
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New Jersey attorney.