Memo to politicians writing new laws: Study the Bill of Rights.
The content and the language!
Amendment IX.
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 21 words.
Too many to count, even if its heart is in the right place:
776.013 Home protection; use of deadly force;
presumption of fear of death or great bodily harm.--
(1) A person is presumed to have held a reasonable
fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to
himself or herself or another when using defensive force that
is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to
another if:
(a) The person against whom the defensive force was
used was in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering,
or had unlawfully and forcibly entered, a dwelling, residence,
or occupied vehicle, or if that person had removed or was
attempting to remove another against that person's will from
the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle; and
(b) The person who uses defensive force knew or had
reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry or
unlawful and forcible act was occurring or had occurred.
(2) The presumption set forth in subsection (1) does
not apply if:
(a) The person against whom the defensive force is
used has the right to be in or is a lawful resident of the
dwelling, residence, or vehicle, such as an owner, lessee, or
titleholder, and there is not an injunction for protection
from domestic violence or a written pretrial supervision order
of no contact against that person; or
(b) The person or persons sought to be removed is a
child or grandchild, or is otherwise in the lawful custody or
under the lawful guardianship of, the person against whom the
defensive force is used; or
(c) The person who uses defensive force is engaged in
an unlawful activity or is using the dwelling, residence, or
occupied vehicle to further an unlawful activity; or
(d) The person against whom the defensive force is
used is a law enforcement officer, as defined in s.
943.10(14), who enters or attempts to enter a dwelling,
residence, or vehicle in the performance of his or her
official duties and the officer identified himself or herself
in accordance with any applicable law or the person using
force knew or reasonably should have known that the person
entering or attempting to enter was a law enforcement officer.
(3) A person who is not engaged in an unlawful
activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or
she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right
to stand his or her ground and meet force with force,
including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is
necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to
himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of
a forcible felony.
(4) A person who unlawfully and by force enters or
attempts to enter a person's dwelling, residence, or occupied
vehicle is presumed to be doing so with the intent to commit
an unlawful act involving force or violence.
(5) As used in this section, the term:
(a) "Dwelling" means a building or conveyance of any
kind, including any attached porch, whether the building or
conveyance is temporary or permanent, mobile or immobile,
which has a roof over it, including a tent, and is designed to
be occupied by people lodging therein at night.
(b) "Residence" means a dwelling in which a person
resides either temporarily or permanently or is visiting as an
invited guest.
(c) "Vehicle" means a conveyance of any kind, whether
or not motorized, which is designed to transport people or
property.
Section 2. Section 776.012, Florida Statutes, is
amended to read:
776.012 Use of force in defense of person.--A person
is justified in using the use of force, except deadly force,
against another when and to the extent that the person
reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend
himself or herself or another against the such other's
imminent use of unlawful force. However, a the person is
justified in the use of deadly force and does not have a duty
to retreat only if:
(a) He or she reasonably believes that such force is
necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to
himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent
commission of a forcible felony; or.
(b) Under those circumstances permitted pursuant to s.
776.013.
Section 3. Section 776.031, Florida Statutes, is
amended to read:
776.031 Use of force in defense of others.--A person
is justified in the use of force, except deadly force, against
another when and to the extent that the person reasonably
believes that such conduct is necessary to prevent or
terminate the such other's trespass on, or other tortious or
criminal interference with, either real property other than a
dwelling or personal property, lawfully in his or her
possession or in the possession of another who is a member of
his or her immediate family or household or of a person whose
property he or she has a legal duty to protect. However, the
person is justified in the use of deadly force only if he or
she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to
prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony. A person
does not have a duty to retreat if the person is in a place
where he or she has a right to be.
Section 4. Section 776.032, Florida Statutes, is
created to read:
776.032 Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil
action for justifiable use of force.--
(1) A person who uses force as permitted in s.
776.012, s. 776.013, or s. 776.031 is justified in using such
force and is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action
for the use of such force, unless the person against whom
force was used is a law enforcement officer, as defined in s.
943.10(14), who was acting in the performance of his or her
official duties and the officer identified himself or herself
in accordance with any applicable law or the person using
force knew or reasonably should have known that the person was
a law enforcement officer. As used in this subsection, the
term "criminal prosecution" includes arresting, detaining in
custody, and charging or prosecuting the defendant.
(2) A law enforcement agency may use standard
procedures for investigating the use of force as described in
subsection (1), but the agency may not arrest the person for
using force unless it determines that there is probable cause
that the force that was used was unlawful.
(3) The court shall award reasonable attorney's fees,
court costs, compensation for loss of income, and all expenses
incurred by the defendant in defense of any civil action
brought by a plaintiff if the court finds that the defendant
is immune from prosecution as provided in subsection (1). |
