Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 506 (2026)

Use of force for the protection of other persons.

✓ current as of May 2026

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§ 506. Use of force for the protection of other persons.

(a) General rule.--The use of force upon or toward the person of another is justifiable to protect a third person when:

(1) the actor would be justified under section 505 (relating to use of force in self-protection) in using such force to protect himself against the injury he believes to be threatened to the person whom he seeks to protect;

(2) under the circumstances as the actor believes them to be, the person whom he seeks to protect would be justified in using such protective force; and

(3) the actor believes that his intervention is necessary for the protection of such other person.

(b) Exception.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), the actor is not obliged to retreat to any greater extent than the person whom he seeks to protect.

(June 28, 2011, P.L.48, No.10, eff. 60 days)

2011 Amendment. See the preamble to Act 10 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating to legislative findings.

Cross References. Section 506 is referred to in section 6304 of Title 23 (Domestic Relations); section 8340.2 of Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure).

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 28 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1981–2025 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Spotz, 84 A.3d 294 (Pa. 2014).

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Commonwealth v. Spotz, 84 A.3d 294 (Pa. 2014). · cites it 3× “§ 505, 8 “defense of others” under 18 Pa.C.S. § 506, 9 and “dwelling” under 18 Pa.”

Commonwealth v. French, 578 A.2d 1292 (Pa. 1990). · cites it 6× “The use of force in protecting other persons is governed by 18 Pa.C.S. § 506, which provides generally that a person is justified in using force to protect another person under the same circumstances and to the same extent that he or *459 she would be justified in using force to…”

Commonwealth v. Sepulveda, 55 A.3d 1108 (Pa. 2012). “Appellant’s imperfect belief of defense of others theory was an amalgam of defense of others, 18 Pa.C.S. § 506(a) ("Use of force for the protection of other persons”) and voluntary manslaughter, 18 Pa.”

Commonwealth v. Markman, 916 A.2d 586 (Pa. 2007). “2 (1980) (finding, as to the defense of protecting a third party, see 18 Pa.C.S. § 506, that the common law limitation on this defense to near relatives was abandoned under the Crimes Code where the Legislature did not expressly preserve that limitation).”

Commonwealth v. Murphy, 425 A.2d 352 (Pa. 1981). · cites it 2× “Surely it must be concluded that evidence of another person's possession of a weapon at the scene of the alleged offense must be deemed "favorable" to the accused. However, appellant is not entitled to relief because the record establishes that, without prejudice to the defense,…”

Commonwealth v. Simmons, 475 A.2d 1310 (Pa. 1984). · cites it 2× “§ 505, or for the protection of other persons, 18 Pa.C.S. § 506. NOTES [1] Act of January 25, 1966, P.”

Ferguson v. Elec. Factory Concerts, 7 Pa. D. & C.5th 476 (2009). · cites it 2× “18 Pa.C.S. §506. The defendants do acknowledge that the Superior Court has recognized that the law governing the right of self-de *490 fense in civil cases is the same as in criminal context.”

Com. v. Wilson, K. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2018). · cites it 3× “See 18 Pa.C.S. § 506. The defense of another relies substantially on the justification of self-defense, and is available only where the elements of the following statute have been met: Use of force justifiable for protection of the person.”

Com. v. Sobrado-Rivera, E. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2019). · cites it 3× “See 18 Pa.C.S. § 506 (“Use of force for the protection of other persons”).”

Com. v. Klein, K. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2022). · cites it 3× “This argument is essentially an “amalgam of defense of others, 18 Pa.C.S. § 506(a) (“Use of force for the protection of other persons”) and voluntary manslaughter[.”

Brill v. Einfalt 477 (E.D. Pa. 2025). · cites it 3× “In relevant part, Wind Creek argued that Supervisor Thomas Bear’s use of force was justifiable under the circumstances, and therefore Wind Creek is immune from liability pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 506. See Doc. No. 54-1 at 3-7.”

Com. v. Cabassa, L. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2016). · cites it 2× “In relevant part, 18 Pa.C.S. § 506 states: The use of force upon or toward the person of another is justifiable to protect a third person when: (1) the actor would be justified under section 505 (relating to use of force in self- protection) in using such force to protect…”

Show all 28 citing cases →

— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 506(a) — 9 cases

Com. v. Wilson, K. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2018). “See 18 Pa.C.S. § 506. The defense of another relies substantially on the justification of self-defense, and is available only where the elements of the following statute have been met: Use of force justifiable for protection of the person.”

Com. v. Castro, J. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2017).

Com. v. Reed, E. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2018).

Com. v. Sobrado-Rivera, E. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2019). “See 18 Pa.C.S. § 506 (“Use of force for the protection of other persons”).”

— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 506(a)(1) — 3 cases

Commonwealth v. French, 578 A.2d 1292 (Pa. 1990). “The use of force in protecting other persons is governed by 18 Pa.C.S. § 506, which provides generally that a person is justified in using force to protect another person under the same circumstances and to the same extent that he or *459 she would be justified in using force to…”

Com. v. Klein, K. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2022). “This argument is essentially an “amalgam of defense of others, 18 Pa.C.S. § 506(a) (“Use of force for the protection of other persons”) and voluntary manslaughter[.”

Com. v. Sobrado-Rivera, E. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2019). “See 18 Pa.C.S. § 506 (“Use of force for the protection of other persons”).”

— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 506(a)(l) — 1 case

Commonwealth v. Spotz, 84 A.3d 294 (Pa. 2014). “§ 505, 8 “defense of others” under 18 Pa.C.S. § 506, 9 and “dwelling” under 18 Pa.”

— 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 506(b) — 1 case

Com. v. Williams, E. (Pa. Super. Ct. 2015).

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.