| 1 | The Judiciary Committee recommends the following: |
| 2 |
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| 3 | Council/Committee Substitute |
| 4 | Remove the entire bill and insert: |
| 5 | A bill to be entitled |
| 6 | An act relating to the protection of persons and property; |
| 7 | creating s. 776.013, F.S.; authorizing a person to use |
| 8 | force, including deadly force, against an intruder or |
| 9 | attacker in a dwelling, residence, or vehicle under |
| 10 | specified circumstances; creating a presumption that a |
| 11 | reasonable fear of death or great bodily harm exists under |
| 12 | certain circumstances; creating a presumption that a |
| 13 | person acts with the intent to use force or violence under |
| 14 | specified circumstances; providing definitions; amending |
| 15 | ss. 776.012 and 776.031, F.S.; providing that a person is |
| 16 | justified in using deadly force under certain |
| 17 | circumstances; declaring that a person has no duty to |
| 18 | retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and |
| 19 | meet force with force if the person is in a place where he |
| 20 | or she has a right to be and the force is necessary to |
| 21 | prevent death, great bodily harm, or the commission of a |
| 22 | forcible felony; creating s. 776.032, F.S.; providing |
| 23 | immunity from criminal prosecution or civil action for |
| 24 | using deadly force; defining the term "criminal |
| 25 | prosecution"; authorizing a law enforcement agency to |
| 26 | investigate the use of deadly force but prohibiting the |
| 27 | agency from arresting the person unless the agency |
| 28 | determines that there is probable cause that the force the |
| 29 | person used was unlawful; providing for the award of |
| 30 | attorney's fees, court costs, compensation for loss of |
| 31 | income, and other expenses to a defendant in a civil suit |
| 32 | who was immune from prosecution under this section; |
| 33 | providing an effective date. |
| 34 |
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| 35 | WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that it is proper for law- |
| 36 | abiding people to protect themselves, their families, and |
| 37 | others from intruders and attackers without fear of prosecution |
| 38 | or civil action for acting in defense of themselves and others, |
| 39 | and |
| 40 | WHEREAS, the castle doctrine is a common-law doctrine of |
| 41 | ancient origins which declares that a person's home is his or |
| 42 | her castle, and |
| 43 | WHEREAS, Section 8 of Article I of the State Constitution |
| 44 | guarantees the right of the people to bear arms in defense of |
| 45 | themselves, and |
| 46 | WHEREAS, the persons residing in or visiting this state |
| 47 | have a right to expect to remain unmolested within their homes |
| 48 | or vehicles, and |
| 49 | WHEREAS, no person or victim of crime should be required to |
| 50 | surrender his or her personal safety to a criminal, nor should a |
| 51 | person or victim be required to needlessly retreat in the face |
| 52 | of intrusion or attack, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 53 |
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| 54 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 55 |
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| 56 | Section 1. Section 776.013, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 57 | to read: |
| 58 | 776.013 Home protection; use of deadly force; presumption |
| 59 | of fear of death or great bodily harm.-- |
| 60 | (1) A person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of |
| 61 | imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself, |
| 62 | herself, or another when using defensive force that is intended |
| 63 | or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another if: |
| 64 | (a) The person against whom the defensive force was used |
| 65 | was in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering, or had |
| 66 | unlawfully and forcibly entered, a dwelling, residence, or |
| 67 | occupied vehicle, or if that person had removed or was |
| 68 | attempting to remove another against that person's will from the |
| 69 | dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle. |
| 70 | (b) The person who uses defensive force knew or had reason |
| 71 | to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry or unlawful and |
| 72 | forcible act was occurring or had occurred. |
| 73 | (2) The presumption set forth in subsection (1) does not |
| 74 | apply if: |
| 75 | (a) The person against whom the defensive force is used |
| 76 | has the right to be in or is a lawful resident of the dwelling, |
| 77 | residence, or vehicle, such as an owner, lessee, invitee, or |
| 78 | titleholder, and there is not an injunction for protection from |
| 79 | domestic violence or a written pretrial supervision order of no |
| 80 | contact against that person; |
| 81 | (b) The person or persons sought to be removed is a child |
| 82 | or grandchild, or is otherwise in the lawful custody or under |
| 83 | the lawful guardianship, of the person against whom the |
| 84 | defensive force is used; |
| 85 | (c) The person who uses defensive force is engaged in an |
| 86 | unlawful activity or is using the dwelling, residence, or |
| 87 | occupied vehicle to further an unlawful activity; or |
| 88 | (d) The person against whom the defensive force is used is |
| 89 | a law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10, who enters |
| 90 | or attempts to enter a dwelling, residence, or vehicle in the |
| 91 | performance of his or her official duties and the officer |
| 92 | identified himself or herself in accordance with any applicable |
| 93 | law or the person using force knew or reasonably should have |
| 94 | known that the person entering or attempting to enter was a law |
| 95 | enforcement officer. |
| 96 | (3) A person who is attacked in any other place where he |
| 97 | or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the |
| 98 | right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, |
| 99 | including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is |
| 100 | necessary to do so, to prevent death or great bodily harm to |
| 101 | himself, herself, or another or to prevent the commission of a |
| 102 | forcible felony. |
| 103 | (4) A person who unlawfully and by force enters or |
| 104 | attempts to enter a person's dwelling, residence, or occupied |
| 105 | vehicle is presumed to do so with the intent to commit an |
| 106 | unlawful act involving force or violence. |
| 107 | (5) As used in this section, the term: |
| 108 | (a) "Dwelling" means a building or conveyance of any kind, |
| 109 | including any attached porch, whether the building or conveyance |
| 110 | is temporary or permanent, mobile or immobile, that has a roof |
| 111 | over it, including a tent, and is designed to be occupied by |
| 112 | people lodging therein at night. |
| 113 | (b) "Residence" means a dwelling in which a person resides |
| 114 | either temporarily or permanently or is visiting as an invited |
| 115 | guest. |
| 116 | (c) "Vehicle" means a conveyance of any kind, whether or |
| 117 | not motorized, which is designed to transport people or |
| 118 | property. |
| 119 | Section 2. Section 776.012, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 120 | to read: |
| 121 | 776.012 Use of force in defense of person.--A person is |
| 122 | justified in using the use of force, except deadly force, |
| 123 | against another when and to the extent that the person |
| 124 | reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend |
| 125 | himself or herself or another against the such other's imminent |
| 126 | use of unlawful force. However, a the person is justified in the |
| 127 | use of deadly force and does not have a duty to retreat only if: |
| 128 | (1) He or she reasonably believes that such force is |
| 129 | necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to |
| 130 | himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent |
| 131 | commission of a forcible felony; or |
| 132 | (2) Under those circumstances permitted pursuant to s. |
| 133 | 776.013. |
| 134 | Section 3. Section 776.031, Florida Statutes, is amended |
| 135 | to read: |
| 136 | 776.031 Use of force in defense of others.--A person is |
| 137 | justified in the use of force, except deadly force, against |
| 138 | another when and to the extent that the person reasonably |
| 139 | believes that such conduct is necessary to prevent or terminate |
| 140 | the such other's trespass on, or other tortious or criminal |
| 141 | interference with, either real property other than a dwelling or |
| 142 | personal property, lawfully in his or her possession or in the |
| 143 | possession of another who is a member of his or her immediate |
| 144 | family or household or of a person whose property he or she has |
| 145 | a legal duty to protect. However, the person is justified in the |
| 146 | use of deadly force only if he or she reasonably believes that |
| 147 | such force is necessary to prevent the imminent commission of a |
| 148 | forcible felony. A person does not have a duty to retreat if the |
| 149 | person is in a place where he or she has a right to be. |
| 150 | Section 4. Section 776.032, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 151 | to read: |
| 152 | 776.032 Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil |
| 153 | action for justifiable use of force.-- |
| 154 | (1) A person who uses force as described in s. 776.012, s. |
| 155 | 776.013, or s. 776.031 is justified in using such force and is |
| 156 | immune from criminal prosecution and civil action for the use of |
| 157 | such force, unless the person against whom force was used is a |
| 158 | law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10, who was acting |
| 159 | in the performance of his or her official duties and the officer |
| 160 | identified himself or herself in accordance with any applicable |
| 161 | law or the person using force knew or reasonably should have |
| 162 | known that the person was a law enforcement officer. As used in |
| 163 | this subsection, the term "criminal prosecution" includes |
| 164 | arresting, detaining in custody, and charging or prosecuting the |
| 165 | defendant. |
| 166 | (2) A law enforcement agency may use standard procedures |
| 167 | for investigating the use of force as described in subsection |
| 168 | (1), but the agency may not arrest the person for using force |
| 169 | unless it determines that there is probable cause that the force |
| 170 | used was unlawful. |
| 171 | (3) The court shall award reasonable attorney's fees, |
| 172 | court costs, compensation for loss of income, and all expenses |
| 173 | incurred by the defendant in defense of any civil action brought |
| 174 | by a plaintiff if the court finds that the defendant is immune |
| 175 | from prosecution as provided in subsection (1). |
| 176 | Section 5. This act shall take effect October 1, 2005. |