Self-Defense Laws in Utah

Stand your ground. Except for an aggressor or a person engaged in combat by agreement who has not withdrawn, an individual does not have a duty to retreat from the force or threatened force in a place where that individual has lawfully entered or remained, and the failure to retreat is not a relevant factor in determining whether the individual acted reasonably. Deadly force is justified only if the individual reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to the individual or another individual as a result of imminent use of unlawful force, or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony. Force is not justified for an individual who initially provokes force as an excuse to inflict harm, or who is attempting to commit, committing, or fleeing after a felony (unless the force is a reasonable response to unrelated factors).

An actor is justified in using force when and to the extent the actor reasonably believes it necessary to prevent or terminate an individual's unlawful entry into the actor's vehicle or unlawful entry or attack upon the actor's habitation or place of business or employment. Deadly force is justified only if the entry is made or attempted in a violent and tumultuous manner, surreptitiously, or by stealth and the actor reasonably believes it is for the purpose of assaulting or perpetrating personal violence against someone present and that force is necessary to prevent it, or if the actor reasonably believes the entry is for the purpose of committing a felony in the habitation and the force is necessary to prevent it. An actor who uses force or deadly force to defend the actor's habitation is presumed, for the purpose of both civil and criminal cases, to have acted reasonably and had a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or serious bodily injury if the entry or attempted entry is unlawful and is made or attempted by use of force, in a violent and tumultuous manner, surreptitiously or by stealth, or for the purpose of committing a felony. A similar presumption applies to defending the actor's occupied vehicle or place of business or employment against unlawful and forcible entry or removal, if the actor did not provoke the individual and was not otherwise engaged in criminal activity other than a traffic offense.