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Brown v. United States
Supreme Court of the United States (1921) | 256 U.S. 335; 41 S. Ct. 501; 65 L. Ed. 961; 1921 U.S. LEXIS 1607; 18 A.L.R. 1276
TL;DR: A man convicted of murder argued self-defense. The Supreme Court reversed his conviction, holding that the trial court erred in instructing the jury that he had an absolute duty to retreat before using deadly force when facing an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm.
Legal Significance: This case established the majority American rule of self-defense, known as the "stand your ground" doctrine, rejecting the traditional common law duty to retreat when a person is faced with a deadly threat in a place they have a right to be.