Florida Senate - 2014                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for SB's 130 & 122
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì2199145Î219914                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  03/17/2014           .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————




       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 30.60, Florida Statutes, is amended to
    6  read:
    7         30.60 Establishment of neighborhood crime watch programs.—
    8         (1) A county sheriff or municipal police department may
    9  establish neighborhood crime watch programs within the county or
   10  municipality. The participants of a neighborhood crime watch
   11  program shall include, but need not be limited to, residents of
   12  the county or municipality and owners of businesses located
   13  within the county or municipality.
   14         (2) The county sheriff or municipal police department shall
   15  issue reasonable guidelines for the operation of such programs.
   16  The guidelines must include, but are not limited to, prohibiting
   17  a neighborhood crime watch patrol participant, while on patrol,
   18  from confronting or attempting to apprehend a person suspected
   19  of improper or unlawful activity, subject, however, to those
   20  circumstances in which a reasonable person would be permitted,
   21  authorized, or expected to assist another person.
   22         Section 2. Section 166.0485, Florida Statutes, is amended
   23  to read:
   24         166.0485 Establishment of neighborhood crime watch
   25  programs.—
   26         (1) A county sheriff or municipal police department may
   27  establish neighborhood crime watch programs within the county or
   28  municipality. The participants of a neighborhood crime watch
   29  program shall include, but need not be limited to, residents of
   30  the county or municipality and owners of businesses located
   31  within the county or municipality.
   32         (2) The county sheriff or municipal police department shall
   33  issue reasonable guidelines for the operation of such programs.
   34  The guidelines must include, but are not limited to, prohibiting
   35  a neighborhood crime watch patrol participant, while on patrol,
   36  from confronting or attempting to apprehend a person suspected
   37  of improper or unlawful activity, subject, however, to those
   38  circumstances in which a reasonable person would be permitted,
   39  authorized, or expected to assist another person.
   40         Section 3. Present subsection (1) of section 776.032,
   41  Florida Statutes, is amended, subsections (2) and (3) are
   42  renumbered as subsections (3) and (4), respectively, and a new
   43  subsection (2) is added to that section, to read:
   44         776.032 Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action
   45  for justifiable use of force.—
   46         (1) A person who uses force as permitted in s. 776.012, s.
   47  776.013, or s. 776.031 is justified in using such force and is
   48  immune from criminal prosecution and civil action by the person,
   49  personal representative, or heirs of the person, against whom
   50  force was used for the use of such force, unless the person
   51  against whom force was used is a law enforcement officer, as
   52  defined in s. 943.10(14), who was acting in the performance of
   53  his or her official duties and the officer identified himself or
   54  herself in accordance with any applicable law or the person
   55  using force knew or reasonably should have known that the person
   56  was a law enforcement officer. As used in this subsection, the
   57  term “criminal prosecution” includes arresting, taking into
   58  custody, or arresting, detaining in custody, and charging or
   59  prosecuting the defendant. This subsection does not restrict a
   60  law enforcement agency’s authority and duty to fully and
   61  completely investigate the use of force upon which an immunity
   62  may be claimed or any event surrounding such use of force.
   63         (2) A defendant is entitled to an evidentiary hearing on a
   64  pretrial motion to dismiss an indictment or information by
   65  making a prima facie showing of the justifiable use of force.
   66  During the hearing, the state bears the burden of proving by a
   67  preponderance of the evidence that the defendant’s use of force
   68  was not lawful. For purposes of the motion, the judge shall
   69  decide all factual disputes relating to the defendant’s use of
   70  force, but any factual findings are not established for the
   71  purposes of any subsequent trial. The defendant’s testimony is
   72  not admissible in a subsequent hearing or trial except for the
   73  purposes of impeachment. The denial of the defendant’s motion to
   74  dismiss or any factual findings at the hearing do not preclude
   75  the defendant from raising any defense or presenting any
   76  evidence at trial.
   77         Section 4. Section 776.041, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   78  read:
   79         776.041 Use of force by aggressor.—The justifications
   80  justification described in the preceding sections of this
   81  chapter, including, but not limited to, the immunity provided
   82  for in s. 776.032, are is not available to a person who:
   83         (1) Is attempting to commit, committing, or escaping after
   84  the commission of, a forcible felony; or
   85         (2) Initially provokes the use of force against himself or
   86  herself, unless:
   87         (a) Such force is so great that the person reasonably
   88  believes that he or she is in imminent danger of death or great
   89  bodily harm and that he or she has exhausted every reasonable
   90  means to escape such danger other than the use of force which is
   91  likely to cause death or great bodily harm to the assailant; or
   92         (b) In good faith, the person withdraws from physical
   93  contact with the assailant and indicates clearly to the
   94  assailant that he or she desires to withdraw and terminate the
   95  use of force, but the assailant continues or resumes the use of
   96  force.
   97  
   98  For purposes of this subsection, provocation must include the
   99  use of force or threat of force.
  100         Section 5. Section 776.09, Florida Statutes, is created to
  101  read:
  102         776.09 Justifiable Use of Force; Legislative Intent.—The
  103  use of force authorized by this chapter is not intended to
  104  encourage vigilantism or acts of revenge, authorize the
  105  initiation of a confrontation as a pretext to respond with
  106  deadly force, or negate a duty to retreat for persons engaged in
  107  unlawful mutual combat.
  108         Section 6. This act shall take effect October 1, 2014.
  109  
  110  
  111  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  112  And the title is amended as follows:
  113         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  114  and insert:
  115                        A bill to be entitled                      
  116         An act relating to the use of deadly force; amending
  117         ss. 30.60 and 166.0485, F.S.; requiring the county
  118         sheriff or municipal police department to issue
  119         reasonable guidelines for the operation of
  120         neighborhood crime watch programs; providing that the
  121         guidelines are subject to reasonable exceptions;
  122         amending s. 776.032, F.S.; providing that a person who
  123         is justified in using force is immune from criminal
  124         prosecution and civil action initiated by the person
  125         against whom the force was used; revising the
  126         definition of the term “criminal prosecution”;
  127         clarifying that a law enforcement agency retains the
  128         authority and duty to fully investigate the use of
  129         force upon which an immunity may be claimed; providing
  130         that during a pretrial immunity hearing, the state
  131         bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the
  132         evidence that the defendant’s use of force was not
  133         lawful; amending s. 776.041, F.S.; providing that any
  134         reason, including immunity, used by an aggressor to
  135         justify the use of force is not available to the
  136         aggressor under specified circumstances; providing
  137         that provocation justifying the use of defensive force
  138         must include the use of force or the threat of the use
  139         of force; creating s. 776.09, F.S.; providing
  140         legislative intent relating to the justifiable use of
  141         force; providing an effective date.