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. |