Originally Posted by
Don Gwinn
Illinois is one of those states with a civil liability shield, often cited when people bring up the idea of "adding Castle Doctrine" or "adding Stand Your Ground" (we also have no "duty to retreat" in our self-defense law, so those are generally considered unnecessary here.) But I'm not aware of any case law that further clarifies that shield. My question about it has been (and I guess I'd better get moving on getting an answer!) whether there's any good guidance on what activates that defense. For instance, if I've shot an attacker, and the DA has declined to bring charges, is that enough evidence that I acted in self-defense to activate my protection against civil suits? Or am I going to have to be sued and claim my civil immunity--and maybe even go to a trial and raise it as a defense? I can't claim to be sure.