It is late at night, and Lea is walking to her car alone whe…
It is late at night, and Lea is walking to her car alone when she hears someone behind her. It is a man, and he seems to be following her. Lea starts walking faster, but so does he. She starts to run, and the man begins to run after her. When Lea looks back, she sees that he is holding a knife. Fortunately, Lea makes it to her car, jumps in, and locks the doors just before the man reaches her car. He tries to open her passenger-side front door and begins pounding on the window of that door, still holding the knife. Lea gets a small pistol out of her glove box. She realizes that she could safely drive away, but she is convinced that she is justified in shooting this dangerous man, and she lives in a state that takes a “stand your ground” approach to self-defense. So, Lea prepares herself, opens her driver-side front door, stands up, and shoots the man (who is still next to her passenger-side front door). He dies. Does Lea have a valid self-defense claim under state law (i.e., “stand your ground”)? What about self-defense under the traditional common law?
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