Ala. Code § 13A-3-25

Use of Force in Defense of Premises.

Known as the Alabama Criminal Code

The act spans §§ 13A-10-1 to 13A-9-92 (653 sections).

Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case Morris v. Town of Lexington Alabama (2014)

Most recently applied in Morris v. Town of Lexington Alabama (May 2014)

(Acts 1977, No. 607, p. 812, §620.)

How often courts cite this section

citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(a) A person in lawful possession or control of premises, as defined in Section 13A-3-20, or a person who is licensed or privileged to be thereon, may use physical force upon another person when and to the extent that he reasonably believes it necessary to prevent or terminate what he reasonably believes to be the commission or attempted commission of a criminal trespass by the other person in or upon such premises.

(b) A person may use deadly physical force under the circumstances set forth in subsection (a) of this section only:

(1) In defense of a person, as provided in Section 13A-3-23; or

(2) When he reasonably believes it necessary to prevent the commission of arson in the first or second degree by the trespasser.

Official source: Alabama Legislature (ALISON). Reproduced from public-domain Alabama statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.