New York Penal Law Article 35: Self-Defense and Justification

New York Penal Law Article 35 is the section of the state’s criminal code that tells you when using force against another person is legally justified rather than criminal. It covers self-defense, defense of others, defense of your home and property, and a handful of narrower situations. The law is built around one test: whether you reasonably believed the force was necessary to stop an imminent unlawful attack. Deadly force is available in a much shorter list of circumstances, and outside your own home you generally must retreat if you can do so safely before resorting to it.

The Reasonable Belief Standard

Every use-of-force provision in Article 35 turns on the phrase “reasonably believes.” Under Section 35.15, you can use physical force when you reasonably believe it is necessary to defend yourself or someone else from an imminent unlawful attack.¹ That has two parts. Did you actually believe force was necessary? And would a reasonable person in your position have shared that belief?

The New York Court of Appeals worked out the objective side of that question in People v. Goetz. Reasonableness is not judged in the abstract. It takes into account your specific circumstances: your physical size relative to the other person, any relevant knowledge you had about that person, and prior experiences that gave you a reasonable basis to believe you were in danger.² Someone who has been mugged before in the same location brings that history into the analysis.

Jurors are supposed to evaluate the situation as it appeared to you at the time, not as it reads on a transcript months later. Under acute stress the body narrows attention, compresses reaction time, and impairs perception, and defense attorneys often present evidence of those effects to explain why a split-second decision looked different in the moment than it does in a calm courtroom.

Non-Deadly Force to Defend Yourself or Someone Else

Section 35.15(1) authorizes physical force against another person when you reasonably believe it is necessary to defend yourself or a third person from an imminent unlawful physical attack.¹ The force must be proportional. You can push, restrain, or strike an attacker to stop the attack, but only to the degree needed.

Defending someone else works the same way, with a catch. You step into the shoes of the person being attacked. Your right to use force depends on whether that person would have been justified in using force themselves. If you misread the situation and end up helping the aggressor rather than the victim, the justification defense can fall apart.

Defense of Your Home and Property

Sections 35.20 and 35.25 cover force used to protect places and belongings rather than people. Under Section 35.20, anyone can use non-deadly force to prevent or stop damage to a building or premises. A person who controls the premises, or is authorized to be there, can also use non-deadly force to stop a criminal trespass.³

Deadly force to protect property is sharply limited. Section 35.20 permits it in only two situations: to stop arson, or when someone is committing or attempting a burglary of a dwelling or occupied building and you reasonably believe deadly force is necessary to stop it.³ That burglary provision links directly into Section 35.15(2)(c), which allows deadly force against a burglar under the same conditions.

For personal property outside a building, Section 35.25 is far more restrictive. You can use non-deadly force to stop someone from stealing or vandalizing your belongings. Deadly force to protect personal property alone is never permitted.⁴ You cannot shoot someone for taking your car. This is where people most often overestimate their legal authority.

When Deadly Force Is Permitted

Deadly physical force means force readily capable of causing death or serious injury. New York restricts its use to a narrow set of circumstances. Under Section 35.15(2), you may use deadly force only if one of the following is true:

You reasonably believe the other person is using or about to use deadly physical force against you or someone else.
You reasonably believe the other person is committing or attempting kidnapping, forcible rape, forcible criminal sexual act, or robbery.
You reasonably believe the other person is committing or attempting a burglary of a dwelling or occupied building under the conditions in Section 35.20(3).

The statute lists specific felonies rather than a general category. A mugging involving force or threatened force qualifies as robbery. A serious assault that does not involve one of the listed crimes does not by itself unlock deadly force unless the attacker is using or about to use deadly force. Immediacy matters too. If the attacker has stopped, surrendered, or fled, the window closes. Courts ask whether the attacker’s conduct at the moment of the defensive response would have led a reasonable person to believe death or serious injury was imminent.

The Duty to Retreat and the Castle Doctrine

Even when every other requirement is met, New York adds one more condition before you can use deadly force. If you know you can retreat to complete safety for yourself and others, you must do so instead.¹ This duty applies in public spaces, workplaces, and anywhere outside your home. Failing to retreat when you safely could have can strip you of the justification defense even if the threat was real.

The main exception is the Castle Doctrine. You have no duty to retreat when you are inside your own dwelling and you were not the initial aggressor.¹ “Dwelling” tracks the definition in Section 140.00 of the Penal Law, which generally means a building used for overnight lodging. Shared apartment hallways, porches open to the public, and detached garages typically do not qualify. If you are outside the walls of your personal living space, the retreat rule applies again.

Two points confuse people. First, the Castle Doctrine does not authorize deadly force on its own. It only removes the retreat obligation. You still have to satisfy every other requirement under Section 35.15(2). Second, if you were the initial aggressor, the doctrine does not protect you even inside your own home.

When the Justification Defense Fails

Section 35.15(1) identifies three situations where the right to use force disappears entirely:

You provoked the attack. If you intentionally provoked someone into using force so you could retaliate, the law treats you as the cause of the violence.
You were the initial aggressor. The person who starts a physical confrontation cannot claim self-defense, with one exception below.
You agreed to fight. A pre-arranged fight or mutual combat by agreement removes the defense for both participants.

The initial-aggressor exception is narrow. If you started the confrontation but then clearly withdrew and effectively communicated your withdrawal, and the other person continued to attack or threaten you with imminent unlawful force, you regain the right to use justifiable force.¹ Courts read “effectively communicated” literally. Silently backing away may not be enough if the other person had no way to understand you were done.

What Happens If Justification Fails

If a jury rejects your justification defense, the underlying conduct is judged on its own. Charges depend on what happened and how badly the other person was hurt.

Non-deadly force that went beyond what the situation required is commonly charged as third-degree assault, a Class A misdemeanor. The maximum sentence is 364 days in jail and a fine up to $1,000.⁵⁶ New York caps misdemeanor sentences at 364 days rather than a full year, a distinction that matters for immigration purposes.

More serious outcomes bring felony charges. Second-degree assault is a Class D violent felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.⁷⁸ If someone died, prosecutors can pursue manslaughter or, where the evidence supports intent to kill without justification, second-degree murder.⁹

A criminal acquittal is not the end of your legal exposure. New York has no statutory civil immunity for justified use of force. The injured person, or a decedent’s family, can file a battery or wrongful death suit against you even if you were never charged or were acquitted on all counts. The civil standard is lower: a plaintiff only needs to show the claim is more likely true than not, rather than prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Homeowner’s and renter’s insurance policies typically exclude intentional acts, so defense costs generally come out of pocket.

After a Use-of-Force Incident

The legal picture does not end the moment the threat stops. What you say and do next shapes how prosecutors and jurors evaluate your justification claim.

Call 911 right away. Identify yourself, give your location, request police and medical help, and say that you were attacked and defended yourself. Keep it short. The recording will be played in court, and long descriptions given under stress tend to contain inconsistencies that a prosecutor can use on cross-examination.

When officers arrive, cooperate with basic safety and identification questions. Point out weapons, identify anyone injured, and describe suspects who fled. Beyond that, exercise your right to remain silent until you have spoken with a criminal defense attorney. The same stress response that helped you survive the encounter also impairs memory and perception, and small errors in an immediate account can be treated as lies once the adrenaline wears off. An attorney who handles use-of-force cases can help you give a coherent account at the right time and with the right protections in place.

1
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 35.15 – Justification; Use of Physical Force in Defense of a Person
2
New York State Law Reporting Bureau. People v Goetz
3
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 35.20 – Justification; Use of Physical Force in Defense of Premises and in Defense of a Person in the Course of Burglary
4
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 35.25 – Justification; Use of Physical Force to Prevent or Terminate Larceny or Criminal Mischief
5
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 70.15 – Sentences of Imprisonment for Misdemeanors and Certain Other Offenses
6
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 80.05 – Fines for Misdemeanors and Violations
7
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 120.05 – Assault in the Second Degree
8
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 70.02 – Sentence of Imprisonment for a Violent Felony Offense
9
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 125.20 – Manslaughter in the First Degree