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vey323 t1_j4s0q85 wrote

The use of deadly force in NJ requires reasonable belief and an imminent need that such force is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to yourself or others; outside the home you have a duty to retreat if you can safely do so, but inside the home there is no such duty. There is NO requirement to give warning to an intruder - if they are in your home or attempting to enter, "a person may stand in the threshold of their home and prevent an assailant from entering by any means. A home owner my use force – including deadly force – upon an intruder if the home owner believes that force is immediately necessary to protect themselves or others in the home".

This is direct from the statute and the NJ Attorney General's Use of Force Policy

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Few_Butterscotch954 t1_j4s3wtr wrote

just a second, i found this https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/2016/title-2c/section-2c-3-4/

b)The actor demanded that the intruder disarm, surrender or withdraw, and the intruder refused to do so.

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vey323 t1_j4s611c wrote

That section denotes what is required for "reasonable belief" for use of deadly force, not that you are required to give a warning.

>(2)A reasonable belief exists when the actor, to protect himself or a third person, was in his own dwelling at the time of the offense or was privileged to be thereon and the encounter between the actor and intruder was sudden and unexpected, compelling the actor to act instantly and:
>
>(a)The actor reasonably believed that the intruder would inflict personal injury upon the actor or others in the dwelling; OR
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>b)The actor demanded that the intruder disarm, surrender or withdraw, and the intruder refused to do so.

The emphasis on OR is mine, because you don't need both conditions to be fulfilled to have a reasonable belief - it's one or the other. If someone breaks into your home, and you tell them to leave, and they refuse, then that provides the reasonable belief that they intend to cause serious injury or death to you or others.

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flyinfalkin t1_j4s23k7 wrote

Thank you for finding this. I thought I had read something like this before.

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dhskiskdferh OP t1_j4s75l2 wrote

What part? You are mixing your commentary with the guidance

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