Where can an Arkansan stand their ground without retreating before using force in self-defense?
Plain-English summary
Arkansas adopted Stand Your Ground in 2021 (Act 250 of 2021, codified at A.C.A. §§ 5-2-606, -607, and -615). Before that, an Arkansan generally had a duty to retreat before using force in self-defense if doing so could be done safely. Stand Your Ground eliminated that duty in most situations.
State Representative Steve Unger asked the AG how far on someone's own property the no-retreat rule applies, and whether it depends on a strict geographic line. AG Tim Griffin answered that the location question is actually broader than the property line: a self-defender may stand their ground anywhere they are "lawfully present in the location" (A.C.A. § 5-2-606(c)(1) for nondeadly force, A.C.A. § 5-2-607(b)(1) for deadly force). That covers a grocery store, a baseball game, a friend's house, the public sidewalk, the workplace, and so on. The location rule is not tied to land you own.
The one exception is a person who is committing the felony of unlawful firearm possession under A.C.A. § 5-73-103 (typically because of a prior felony conviction, mental-health adjudication, or involuntary commitment). For that person, A.C.A. § 5-2-607(b)(4) reinstates a duty to retreat before using deadly force unless they are "in or at" their dwelling or in the curtilage. So someone in that category can use deadly force without retreating only at home.
What this means for you
If you are an Arkansas resident considering self-defense
You do not have to be on your own property to invoke Stand Your Ground. The statute asks whether you are lawfully present where the threat occurs. As long as you are not trespassing, not committing a crime, and not in the rare felon-in-possession category described below, you can stand your ground anywhere a confrontation happens.
Lawful presence is the gating question. Trespassing on someone else's land defeats the no-retreat rule. The same is true for someone committing certain other crimes, because A.C.A. § 5-2-607 imposes additional conditions including not being the initial aggressor and not provoking the encounter. Read the full statute or consult counsel before relying on this opinion in a confrontation that involves crossing property lines or carrying a firearm where you are not allowed.
If you are an Arkansan who cannot lawfully possess a firearm
Under A.C.A. § 5-73-103, a person who has been convicted of a felony, adjudicated mentally ill, or involuntarily committed to any mental institution generally cannot possess a firearm. There are limited exceptions (gubernatorial restoration of gun rights without a pardon; ATF authorization). If you fall in this category and you possess a firearm anyway, A.C.A. § 5-2-607(b)(4) requires you to retreat before using deadly force, unless you are in your dwelling or curtilage. That last carve-out is the only place the felon-in-possession can use deadly force without first retreating.
The dwelling rule is itself broader than just a stick-built house. A.C.A. § 5-2-601(3) defines "dwelling" as "an enclosed space that is used or intended to be used as a human habitation, home, or residence on a temporary or permanent basis." The opinion notes a hotel room qualifies (Scroggins v. State, 276 Ark. 177), and federal courts treat camping tents, travel trailers, and even vehicles as dwellings if a person is living in them temporarily or permanently (Guerrero-Navarro, 5th Cir.). Curtilage is the surrounding land "convenient for … and habitually used for residential purposes," including outbuildings closely connected to the dwelling.
If you are a prosecutor or law-enforcement officer
The opinion's framing is that location is a "lawful presence" inquiry, not a property-line inquiry. In a Stand Your Ground analysis, the question is whether the defendant was legally allowed to be where the use of force occurred, not whether the defendant owned or possessed the property. The Arkansas Supreme Court's enumeration in Doerhoff v. State, 2023 Ark. 149, sets out the six conditions a deadly-force claim must satisfy.
The dwelling/curtilage carve-out at (b)(4) only matters when the defendant is committing the felony of unlawful firearm possession. If that is in the case, "geographical boundaries" become directly relevant, because the defendant must show the deadly-force use was inside the dwelling or its curtilage to avoid the duty to retreat.
If you are a defense attorney
The opinion confirms two doctrinal points worth raising at the suppression and jury-instruction stages: (1) "lawfully present in the location" is the touchstone, not ownership of the land; and (2) the dwelling definition is generous, including hotel rooms and (under federal interpretive authority) vehicles or trailers used as a residence. If your client is in the felon-in-possession category, the dwelling and curtilage definitions are likely outcome-determinative.
Common questions
Q: Does Stand Your Ground let me use force anywhere on my own property?
A: It lets you use force anywhere you are lawfully present, which includes your property and a great deal more. The statute is not limited to your real estate.
Q: What does "lawfully present" mean?
A: A.C.A. § 5-2-606(c)(1) and A.C.A. § 5-2-607(b)(1) use the phrase. The opinion read it under common usage and Black's Law Dictionary: lawfully (not contrary to law) present (in attendance) at the location (the specific place) where the self-defense occurs. If you are trespassing or committing a crime that gets you to the location, you are not lawfully present.
Q: I have a felony conviction. Can I ever stand my ground at home?
A: Yes, if you possess a firearm in violation of A.C.A. § 5-73-103, you may use deadly force without first retreating only when you are "in or at" your dwelling or in the curtilage surrounding it (A.C.A. § 5-2-607(b)(4)). Outside that physical area, you have a duty to retreat before using deadly force.
Q: Is a hotel room a "dwelling" under the statute?
A: Likely yes. The opinion cites Scroggins v. State, 276 Ark. 177, 633 S.W.2d 33 (1982), which treated hotel and motel rooms as protected dwellings for Fourth Amendment purposes. The Stand-Your-Ground definition in A.C.A. § 5-2-601(3) covers any "enclosed space" used or intended as habitation, home, or residence on a temporary or permanent basis.
Q: What about a tent or my car?
A: The opinion cites federal authority (U.S. v. Guerrero-Navarro, 737 F.3d 976 (5th Cir. 2013)) treating camping tents, travel trailers, and vehicles as dwellings if someone is living there. So a vehicle being used as a temporary residence may qualify, though there is no Arkansas Supreme Court opinion squarely on this point.
Q: Does the opinion apply to nondeadly physical force, deadly physical force, or both?
A: Both. A.C.A. § 5-2-606 governs nondeadly force; A.C.A. § 5-2-607 governs deadly force. Both require lawful presence. The dwelling/curtilage exception at A.C.A. § 5-2-607(b)(4) is the only provision that introduces a property-line consideration, and it applies only to deadly force used by a person committing the felony of unlawful firearm possession.
Background and statutory framework
Arkansas's pre-2021 self-defense law required a person who could safely retreat to do so before using deadly force in most circumstances. Act 250 of 2021 added A.C.A. § 5-2-615 and rewrote §§ 5-2-606 and -607 to remove that duty in most situations. The basic structure now is:
- Nondeadly force (§ 5-2-606). A person who is lawfully present where the self-defense occurs may use nondeadly physical force without retreating, subject to the other elements of self-defense.
- Deadly force (§ 5-2-607). A person who is lawfully present where the self-defense occurs may use deadly force without retreating, subject to six conditions enumerated by the Arkansas Supreme Court in Doerhoff v. State, 2023 Ark. 149.
- Dwelling/curtilage carve-out (§ 5-2-607(b)(4)). A person committing the felony offense of possession of a firearm under A.C.A. § 5-73-103 must retreat before using deadly force unless they are in or at their dwelling or in the curtilage.
The statutory definition of "dwelling" (A.C.A. § 5-2-601(3)) is "an enclosed space that is used or intended to be used as a human habitation, home, or residence on a temporary or permanent basis." "Curtilage" (A.C.A. § 5-2-607(c)(1)) is "the land adjoining a dwelling that is convenient for … and habitually used for residential purposes." It need not be enclosed and includes outbuildings "directly and intimately connected with the dwelling and in close proximity to the dwelling."
The opinion summarizes the law without expanding it. The substantive change came from the 2021 Act; the AG's job here was to clarify how the location requirement runs and where the dwelling/curtilage exception kicks in.
Citations and references
Statutes:
- A.C.A. §§ 5-2-606, -607, -615 (Stand-Your-Ground Act)
- A.C.A. § 5-2-601 (definitions)
- A.C.A. § 5-73-103 (felon in possession)
Cases:
- Doerhoff v. State, 2023 Ark. 149, 675 S.W.3d 877, six-condition deadly-force analysis
- Wickham v. State, 2009 Ark. 357, 324 S.W.3d 344, common meaning canon
- Scroggins v. State, 276 Ark. 177, 633 S.W.2d 33 (1982), hotel room as dwelling
- U.S. v. Guerrero-Navarro, 737 F.3d 976 (5th Cir. 2013), dwelling definition for vehicles, trailers, tents
Source
Original opinion text
Opinion No. 2024-057
September 23, 2024
The Honorable Steve Unger
State Representative
Post Office Box 1262
Springdale, Arkansas 72765
Dear Representative Unger:
I am writing in response to your request for my opinion about the Stand-Your-Ground Act. You ask the following two questions:
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Under A.C.A. §§ 5-2-606 and -607, how far on a person's property may one stand his or her ground?
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Do geographical boundaries have any bearing on this issue?
RESPONSE
The Stand-Your-Ground Act eliminated a self-defender's duty to retreat before threatening or using physical force, whether deadly or not, in many situations. Regarding physical location, the Act requires a self-defender to be "lawfully present in the location[.]" But would-be users of deadly force who are unlawfully in possession of a firearm must be "in or at [their] dwelling or in the curtilage surrounding [their] dwelling." Because your questions focus on a self-defender's location, I will limit my analysis to where physical force may be used without retreating.
Question 1: Under A.C.A. §§ 5-2-606 and -607, how far on a person's property may one stand his or her ground?
Self-defenders who are on real property they own or possess have no duty to retreat before using physical force, unless they are illegally possessing a firearm. If they are illegally possessing a firearm, then before using deadly physical force they must retreat to their "dwelling" or "the curtilage surrounding [their] dwelling."
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Nondeadly physical force. In considering a statute's meaning, a reviewing court will apply each word's common meaning. Because A.C.A. § 5-2-606 requires self-defenders to be "[l]awfully present in the location," self-defenders must retreat unless they are legally allowed to be where they are when the self-defense occurs. But this "location" requirement does not limit self-defenders' right to stand their ground to when they are on real estate they own or possess. Instead, as long as self-defenders are legally allowed to be at the property, they do not have a duty to retreat before using nondeadly physical force.
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Deadly physical force: lawful presence. Like A.C.A. § 5-2-606(c)(1), A.C.A. § 5-2-607 requires the self-defender to be "[l]awfully present at the location where deadly force is used." Thus, self-defenders may use deadly force without retreating if they are legally allowed to be at the place where the self-defense occurs. As discussed above, this is broader than real estate owned or possessed by the self-defender. For instance, if self-defenders are legally allowed to be at a grocery store or a baseball game, they do not have to retreat before using deadly physical force.
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Deadly physical force: felony possession of a firearm. Under A.C.A. § 5-2-607, a person "committing a felony offense of possession of a firearm [under] § 5-73-103" must "retreat before using deadly physical force …, unless the person is in or at the person's dwelling or in the curtilage surrounding the person's dwelling." This is the only provision in the 2021 Stand-Your-Ground Act that specifically relates to a person's home.
One commits a "felony offense of possession of a firearm [under] § 5-73-103" in one of three ways: by possessing a firearm if one has already been convicted of a felony, adjudicated mentally ill, or committed involuntarily to any mental institution.
So self-defenders who fit into at least one of the foregoing categories must retreat before using deadly force unless they are in their "dwelling" or "curtilage." A "dwelling" is "an enclosed space that is used or intended to be used as a human habitation, home, or residence on a temporary or permanent basis." A self-defender's home is a dwelling, but a short-term rental such as a hotel room is also likely a dwelling under this definition. Further, camping tents, travel trailers, and vehicles are not traditional buildings, but they may be dwellings, if a self-defender is living there on a temporary or permanent basis. And "curtilage" is "the land adjoining a dwelling that is convenient for … and habitually used for residential purposes." Curtilage does not have to be enclosed, and it includes outbuildings that are "directly and intimately connected with the dwelling and in close proximity to the dwelling."
Therefore, if a person has been convicted of a felony, adjudicated mentally ill, or committed involuntarily to any mental institution then the person has a duty to retreat, unless the person is (1) at the structure where he or she lives or (2) on land adjoining that structure if it "is convenient for … and habitually used for residential purposes."
Question 2: Do geographical boundaries have any bearing on this issue?
As discussed above, the "location" provisions contained in A.C.A. §§ 5-2-606(b)(1) and 5-2-607(c)(1) allow self-defenders to use physical force, whether deadly or not, if they are legally allowed to be where they are when the self-defense occurs. Thus, neither of these provisions rely on any "geographical boundaries."
But determining if self-defenders were located on property they owned or possessed is always necessary for a felon illegally possessing a firearm under A.C.A. § 5-73-103. That is because self-defenders who are felons illegally possessing a firearm and who are not located on property they own or possess, must retreat under A.C.A. § 5-2-607(b)(4). But if they were in their dwelling or curtilage, they have no duty to retreat.
Assistant Attorney General Jodie Keener prepared this opinion, which I hereby approve.
Sincerely,
TIM GRIFFIN
Attorney General