Chapter 25 Defense of Property

• Library: SC Crimes: Elements and Defenses (SCBar) (2021 Ed.)

Chapter 25 Defense of Property

A. Defense of Property, Common Law

1. Elements

Defense of property is analogous to the law of self-defense, but the two are not identical. State v. Lee, 362 S.E.2d 24, 25 (S.C. 1987). Defense of property arises most often in defense of one's home and thus is often referred to as defense of habitation. McAninch, Fairey, and Coggiola, THE CRIMINAL LAW OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 639 (6^th ed. 2013) (hereafter, McAninch, Fairey, and Coggiola (2013)).

A person is entitled to a charge on defense of habitation when defending himself from imminent attack or trespass on his own premises. Lee, 362 S.E.2d at 25; see also State v. Bryant, 705 S.E.2d 465, 470 (S.C. Ct. App. 2010). A person has the same right to defend his place of business as he has to defend his dwelling...