Mediaboss Marketing

TAMPA, Fla. - How people accused of violent crime defend themselves in court could change drastically, after representatives voted to change Florida's self-defense law.

Now a former judge is warning of dire consequences, and an easier path for someone trying to get away with murder.

"This is what we call downstream consequences. The social policy set by this is really horrible," says Jeff Swartz, a professor at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Riverview.

Right now it's up to an accused defendant to prove they should be immune from a jury trial, but legislators, like Rep. Jeff Brandes of Pinellas County (R) are aiming to change what's known as the "burden of proof."

"The state should always have the burden of proof in these types of situations," Rep. Brandes told ABC Action News earlier this year, in support of changing the Stand Your Ground law. "The state should always have to prove that you acted outside the law."

But Swartz, who is a former County Judge in Florida, and serves as a legal expert for ABC Action News, is warning that the change means it will be up to the state to prove guilt to a judge before the trial ever even happens.

That could mean longer legal processes, and likely means a lot fewer cases will make it to trial.

"The idea that anybody charged with a violent felony -- assault, battery, attempted murder, murder -- can make the state prove him guilty, twice! As opposed to him having to prove he's entitled to the immunity and a jury decide if he's being truthful or not," is a bad idea, says Swartz.

And Swartz warns that in a system where witnesses are essential to get a jury trial, violent crime could become a lot more common.

"I think this will increase incidents of any kind of violence where they believe they can get away with it because there's nobody watching," explains Swartz.

The changes would take effect as soon as Governor Rick Scott signs it into law.

RELATED:Anti-domestic violence advocates warn against Stand Your Ground law change

Meanwhile, a lot could be decided by the first case to go through process under new law and that could be the local case of Curtis Reeves.

A judge has already rejected the former Tampa Police officer's request for immunity under Florida's Stand Your Ground law, but under the new law, he might be allowed to request another hearing on the matter, since the standards have changed.

"If I had to place a name on this I think this is the Curtis Reeves Bill," says Swartz to ABC Action News. "I think people saw what happened to Curtis Reeves. They sided with him. Some people were pushing for him. I think some of law enforcement was on his side, I think the NRA was on his side. And I think they wanted to create a circumstance in which someone like Curtis Reeves now gets a judge to maybe determine he doesn't have to stand trial in front of a jury where he believes he would most probably would be found guilty."

View original post here:
Former Judge warns of dire consequences of Stand Your Ground changes - ABC Action News

The Senate blinked in afight over a standard of evidence, sending a fixto the states stand your ground law to Gov. Rick Scott.

The House on Friday voted to insist that the Senate accept its amendment to Sen. Rob Bradleys bill (SB 128), which aims to streamline claims of self-defense.

Last month, it OKd the bill but changedthe burden of proof to clear and convincing evidence, a lower threshold than the Senates beyond a reasonable doubt, to overcomeself-defense.

By Friday evening, the Senate finally accepted the change on a 22-14 vote.

Bill proponents want the burden tobe on the party seeking to overcome the immunity from criminal prosecution, usually prosecutors, requiring a separate mini-trial, of sorts.

In legal terms,clear and convincing evidence is a medium level of burden of proof, according to the Legal Information Institute atCornell Law School.

In order to meet the standard and prove something by clear and convincing evidence, a party must prove that it is substantially more likely than not that it is true, it says. This standard is employed in both civil and criminal trials.

The Republican majority in the Legislature wants to shift the burden to prosecutors, making them disprove a claim of self-defense. Astate Supreme Court decision had put the onus on the defendant to show self-defense.

Democrats have inveighed against the measure, saying it would encourage bad actors to injure, even kill, and then claim self-defense.

The stand your ground law, enacted in 2005, allows people who are attacked to counter deadly force with deadly force in self-defense without any requirement that they flee.

Originally posted here:
Legislative fix to 'Stand Your Ground' law goes to Rick Scott - Florida ... - Florida Politics (blog)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida Senate stuck to its guns Thursday in a dispute with the House about a change to the state's stand your ground self-defense law.

Both chambers have broadly supported a bill (SB 128) that would shift a key burden of proof from defendants to prosecutors in stand your ground cases.

But with only a day left in the legislative session to reach agreement, the Senate on Thursday refused to go along with a change the House made to the bill. That could jeopardize the bill if the dispute does not get resolved Friday.

The dispute involves a House proposal to require prosecutors in pre-trial stand your ground hearings to overcome the asserted immunity sought by defendants through "clear and convincing evidence."

The Senate prefers a higher standard known as "beyond a reasonable doubt," and Senate sponsor Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, moved Thursday to reject the House position.

This is certainly an issue we debated very intensely during session and now it's time to make a decision, Bradley said.

Though lawmakers are expected to meet Monday to approve the state budget and budget-related bills, Friday is the final day they plan to consider other legislation. The session was scheduled to end Friday but had to be extended into next week to resolve the budget.

House leaders didn't immediately respond late Thursday about whether the House would accept the Senate position on the stand your ground bill.

But Rep. Jason Fischer, a Jacksonville Republican who is a co-sponsor of the House proposal, said, "I'm very optimistic that we will get it to the governor's desk."

The overall issue stems from a Florida Supreme Court ruling in 2015 that said defendants have the burden of proof to show they should be shielded from prosecution under the "stand your ground" law.

In "stand your ground" cases, pre-trial evidentiary hearings are held to determine whether defendants should be immune from prosecution. The bill would shift the burden from defendants to prosecutors in the pre-trial hearings.

Since the Supreme Court ruling, the National Rifle Association and other groups have lobbied for the shift.

The issue, however, has been controversial, with the Senate voting 23-15 in March to approve its version of the bill. The House approved its version last month in a 74-39 vote.

The stand your ground law says people can use deadly force and do not have a duty to retreat if they think it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm.

Critics of Bradley's bill argue, in part, that it would help put an end to cases before all the facts are revealed. Proponents say the measure better protects the rights of defendants.

News Service of Florida

Read the rest here:
'Stand your ground' dispute goes down to last day - WJXT Jacksonville

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. - This week lawmakers in Tallahassee are discussing changes to the Stand Your Ground bill that is making its way through lawmakers.

"So, people who are claiming that they stood their ground in a shooting incident, normally they would have to prove that defense. the law would shift that burden to the prosecution which would make it very difficult to get convictions in shooting cases," said Attorney Gary Lesser.

Stand Your Ground became a hot issue in 2012. Seventeen year old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman. He claimed self defense.

"In that case, Mr. Zimmerman made all of these statements about why he felt compelled and threatened, so perhaps it would not have been a different outcome there," added Lesser.

But Lesser says if a new Stand Your Ground law is put in place, we could see different verdicts.

"If you have a marital dispute, if you are in a bar room fight, any situation. Someone pulls a gun and shoots they are going to claim stand your ground." He adds, "It will make convictions a lot more difficult to get, and we are going to see more people claiming the shooting they are doing are legally justified, and that's bad."

"We have opposed this and have been trying to make it more legally palatable than it originally was. We anticipate that it will pass and increase 'Stand Your Ground' cases as a defense," said the spokesman for the State Attorney's Office.

See the original post:
Local Reaction as Lawmakers discuss changes to Florida Stand ... - WPTV.com

The Stand Your Ground law is most widely associated with the Feb. 26 shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old killed in Florida by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain who claimed he was acting in self-defense.

But as a recent Tampa Bay Times investigation indicates, the Martin incident is far from the only example of the laws reach in Florida. The paper identified nearly 200 instances since 2005 where the states Stand Your Ground law has played a factor in prosecutors decisions, jury acquittals or a judges call to throw out the charges. (Not all the cases involved killings. Some involved assaults where the person didnt die.)

The law removes a persons duty to retreat before using deadly force against another in any place he has the legal right to be so long as he reasonably believed he or someone else faced imminent death or great bodily harm. Among the Stand Your Ground cases identified by the paper, defendants went free nearly 70 percent of the time. Although Florida was the first to enact a Stand Your Ground law, 24 other states enforce similar versions. Using the Tampa Bay findings and others, weve highlighted some of the most notable cases where a version of the Stand Your Ground law has led to freedom from criminal prosecution:

In November 2007, a Houston-area man pulled out a shotgun and killed two men whom he suspected of burglarizing his neighbors home. Joe Horn, a 61-year-old retiree, called 911 and urged the operator to 2018Catch these guys, will you? Cause, I aint going to let them go. Despite being warned to remain inside his home, Horn stated he would shoot, telling the operator, 2018I have a right to protect myself too, sir. The laws have been changed in this country since September the first, and you know it.

Two months earlier, the Texas Legislature passed a Stand Your Ground law removing a citizens duty to retreat while in public places before using deadly force. In July 2008, a Harris County grand jury declined to indict Horn of any criminal charges.

In Louisiana early this year, a grand jury cleared 21-year-old Byron Thomas after he fired into an SUV filled with teenagers after an alleged marijuana transaction went sour. One of the bullets struck and killed 15-year-old Jamonta Miles. Although the SUV was allegedly driving away when Thomas opened fire, Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre said to local media that as far as Thomas knew, someone could have jumped out of the vehicle with a gun. Thomas, said the sheriff, had decided to stand his ground.

Louisianas Stand Your Ground law was enacted just a year after Florida introduced its law.

In March 2012, Bo Morrison was shot and killed by a homeowner in Wisconsin who discovered the unarmed 20-year-old on his porch early one morning. According to friends, Morrison was trying to evade police responding to a noise complaint at a neighboring underage drinking party. The homeowner, thinking Morrison was a burglar, was not charged by the local district attorney.

While Wisconsin doesnt have a Stand Your Ground law that extends to public spaces, Gov. Scott Walker signed an intruders bill in December 2011 that presumes somebody who uses deadly force against a trespasser in their home, business or vehicle acted reasonably, whether or not the intruder was armed. Before the law was enacted, homeowners could only use deadly force if their own lives were at risk.

In April, 22-year-old Cordell Jude shot and killed Daniel Adkins Jr., a pedestrian who walked in front of Judes car just as Jude was pulling up to the window of a Taco Bell drive-thru in Arizona. Jude claimed Adkins had waved his arms in the air, wielding what Judge thought was a metal pipe 2013 it was actually a dog leash. Jude shot the 29-year-old Adkins, who was mentally disabled, once in the chest. As of May, an arrest had not been made in the April 3 shooting. Arizona passed a Stand Your Ground law in 2010.

In January, a judge in Miami tossed out a second-degree murder charge against Greyston Garcia after he chased a suspected burglar for more than a block and stabbed him to death. The judge decided the stabbing was justified because the burglar had swung a bag of stolen car radios at Garcia 2013 an object that a medical examiner at a hearing testified could cause serious harm or death. The judge found Garcia was well within his rights to pursue the victim and demand the return of his property.

Read more here:
Five Stand Your Ground cases you should know about ...