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State v. Gartland

The Supreme Court of New Jersey
694 A.2d 564 (1997)
ELI5:

Rule of Law:

Under New Jersey's self-defense statute, a person has a duty to retreat before using deadly force against an attacker if they know they can do so in complete safety, even when in their own home, if the attacker is a cohabitant. This duty extends to a separate bedroom within the shared home unless that bedroom constitutes a separate 'dwelling' to which the person has an exclusive right of occupancy.


Facts:

  • Ellen Gartland and her husband, John Gartland, had a seventeen-year history in which John subjected Ellen to physical and emotional abuse.
  • For over ten years, the couple had occupied separate bedrooms in their shared home.
  • On the evening of February 8, 1993, after an argument, Ellen Gartland went upstairs to her bedroom to be alone.
  • John Gartland followed her into her bedroom, continued the argument, and approached her threateningly.
  • Ellen retrieved her son's shotgun from her closet and told John to stop.
  • John dismissed her warning, threatened to kill her, and lunged at her with his fists clenched.
  • Ellen Gartland pulled the trigger, shooting and killing her husband.

Procedural Posture:

  • Ellen Gartland was tried for murder in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division (trial court).
  • The jury found Gartland guilty of the lesser-included offense of reckless manslaughter.
  • The trial court denied Gartland's motion for a new trial and sentenced her to a five-year term of imprisonment.
  • Gartland, as appellant, appealed her conviction to the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division (intermediate appellate court).
  • The Appellate Division affirmed the trial court's judgment of conviction.
  • Gartland filed a petition for certification to the Supreme Court of New Jersey (highest court).
  • While the petition was pending, Ellen Gartland died.
  • The Supreme Court of New Jersey granted the petition for certification, deciding to hear the appeal despite Gartland's death.

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Issue:

Does a person have a duty to retreat from their own bedroom within a shared home before using deadly force in self-defense against a cohabitant attacker who has entered that bedroom?


Opinions:

Majority - Per Curiam

Yes. A person has a duty to retreat from a cohabitant attacker, even within a separate bedroom in a shared home, unless that bedroom qualifies as a separate dwelling to which the person has an exclusive right of occupancy. The New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice establishes a statutory duty to retreat before using deadly force if one can do so with complete safety. The 'castle doctrine,' which negates the duty to retreat in one's own dwelling, has a specific exception for attacks by a cohabitant. For a room to be considered a separate 'dwelling' under the statute, there must be evidence of an exclusive right to occupy, such as the door being normally locked or a clear understanding that the cohabitant has no access. In this case, there was no evidence that Ellen Gartland had an exclusive right to occupy her bedroom, so it was not a separate dwelling, and the statutory duty to retreat applied. However, the conviction was reversed on other grounds because the trial court's jury instructions failed to tailor the abstract principles of self-defense and the duty to retreat to the specific facts of the case, constituting a plain error capable of producing an unjust result.



Analysis:

This case affirms New Jersey's minority position that a duty to retreat exists even within the home when the attacker is a cohabitant, extending this rule to separate bedrooms that do not qualify as distinct dwellings. The court's decision highlights the tension between the statutory text and the practical realities faced by victims of domestic violence. While upholding the retreat rule, the court's reversal for inadequate jury instructions signals to lower courts that they must provide concrete, fact-specific guidance to juries in self-defense cases involving a history of abuse. The opinion also serves as a direct invitation to the New Jersey Legislature to reconsider the cohabitant exception to the castle doctrine due to its disproportionate and potentially unjust impact on battered women.

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