So holds State v. Hull (Wash. Ct. App. Dec. 17, 2014) (nonprecedential), in an interesting and pretty detailed opinion. Generally speaking, courts rarely have to decide whether there is a constitutional right to self-defense, since all states generally recognize a statutory or common-law right to use force against another person in self-defense. And while there are constraints on this right — e.g., you can’t use deadly force against a relatively minor attack, some states bar deadly force when there is a completely safe avenue of retreat available, and so on — a constitutional right to self-defense is unlikely to be …read more

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