MSC affirms conviction despite basic “duty to retreat” instruction in castle doctrine case

In People v. Richardson, the Michigan Supreme Court considered a defendant’s claim of self-defense. After a boondoggle¹ between the Richardsons and their neighbors, the Abrams, in which names were called, rocks were thrown and spit was, well, spit, Brandy Abrams came to the Richardson’s door with a baseball bat to challenge Ms. Richardson to fight. After what can properly be described as a heated exchange, the defendant decided he’d had enough, grabbed a gun and stepped out on the porch.²  Shots were fired and Abramses were hit.

Richardson said he was acting in self defense  because he was on his porch and, under the castle doctrine, he had no duty to retreat. He was convicted of assault to do great bodily harm less than murder and felony-firearm in the Wayne Circuit Court.

The dispute on appeal was whether the trial court properly instructed the jury on self defense. The jury was read an instruction for basic self defense, including the general duty to retreat, along with the exceptions, including the castle doctrine. Initially, the judge didn’t explain that curtilage is considered part of the home under Michigan’s castle doctrine statute, MCL 768.21c , but did so after the jury asked for a clarification of the definition of “home.”

The Michigan Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. Justice Marilyn Kelly wrote for the majority:

We wholeheartedly agree with the dissent that the castle doctrine and the right of personal self-defense are longstanding and precious rights that we must vigorously uphold. But this case jeopardizes neither. The factual dispute was whether defendant honestly and reasonably believed that he was entitled to use deadly force. The court correctly instructed the jury that defendant had no duty to retreat if attacked in his home. Once the trial court clarified
that the porch was part of defendant’s home, the jury instructions removed any remaining questions about whether defendant had a duty to retreat. We further agree with the dissent that had the jury not been instructed that a person has no duty to retreat when attacked in his or her home, reversal would have been required. Our decision in Pond v People and 150 years of subsequent caselaw clearly mandate such a result.
But nothing in that caselaw required the judge in this case to sua sponte give the jury an instruction not to let the fact that defendant did not retreat into his house enter its deliberations. People v Riddle addressed this question in a footnote in dictum. But we do not agree that the footnote mandates reversal in the instant case. As noted, the success of defendant’s self-defense claim did not hinge on whether he was required to retreat or stand his ground on his porch. Rather, it hinged on whether he honestly and reasonably believed that it was necessary to use deadly force while standing his ground. After being properly informed that defendant had no duty to retreat if attacked in his home, the jury concluded that deadly force was not necessary. It recognized that the evidence showed that defendant was unharmed and could have continued to stand his ground and remain unharmed without shooting the victims. The dissent makes the right arguments in the wrong case.

In his dissent, Justice Stephen Markman wrote that Richardson’s conviction should have been vacated because the jury should never have been permitted to consider retreat as an option because the Adamses were in the curtilage of Richardson’s house, and there’s no duty to retreat in the home.

¹ This is highly technical legalese. Use with caution.

²  This decision will forever be memorable to me for this passage:

It is agreed that at this point defendant remonstrated that he was “getting tired of this shit,” pulled out one of his three loaded handguns, and fired six times.