Bill Text: FL S0136 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Self-defense
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2013-05-03 - Died in Criminal Justice [S0136 Detail]
Download: Florida-2013-S0136-Introduced.html
Florida Senate - 2013 SB 136 By Senator Smith 31-00237D-13 2013136__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to self-defense; amending s. 776.031, 3 F.S.; authorizing a person to use force, except deadly 4 force, in the defense of property; authorizing a 5 person to use deadly force, in the defense of 6 property, to prevent the imminent commission of a 7 forcible felony; providing that a person does not have 8 a duty to retreat if the person is in a certain place; 9 amending s. 776.032, F.S.; revising the definition of 10 the term “criminal prosecution”; requiring, rather 11 than authorizing, a law enforcement agency to 12 investigate the use of force under certain 13 circumstances; deleting the provision that prohibits a 14 law enforcement agency from arresting a person for 15 using force under certain circumstances; authorizing, 16 rather than requiring, the court to award attorney 17 fees, court costs, and other expenses to a defendant 18 who used force under certain circumstances; amending 19 s. 776.041, F.S.; deleting the provisions that make 20 justifiable use of force available to an aggressor who 21 initially provokes the use of force against himself or 22 herself; providing additional circumstances in which 23 justifiable use of force is not available; creating s. 24 776.09, F.S.; providing legislative findings; 25 directing the Department of Law Enforcement to 26 collect, process, maintain, and disseminate 27 information and data on all incidents concerning the 28 alleged justifiable use of force in this state; 29 requiring the department to annually report to the 30 Legislature the information and data in a format and 31 manner determined by the Legislature; requiring each 32 law enforcement agency within the state to monthly 33 report to the department all incidents and cases in 34 which a claim regarding the justifiable use of force 35 is raised; providing an effective date. 36 37 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 38 39 Section 1. Section 776.031, Florida Statutes, is amended to 40 read: 41 776.031 Use of force in defense of propertyothers.—A 42 person is justified in the use of force, except deadly force, 43 against another when and to the extent that the person 44 reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to prevent or 45 terminate the other’s trespass on, or other tortious or criminal 46 interference with, either real property other than a dwelling or 47 personal property, lawfully in his or her possession or in the 48 possession of another who is a member of his or her immediate 49 family or household or of a person whose property he or she has 50 a legal duty to protect. However, the person is justified in the 51 use of deadly force only if he or she reasonably believes that 52 such force is necessary to prevent the imminent commission of a 53 forcible felony. A person does not have a duty to retreat if the 54 person is in a place where he or she has a right to be. 55 Section 2. Section 776.032, Florida Statutes, is amended to 56 read: 57 776.032 Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action 58 for justifiable use of force.— 59 (1) A person who uses force as permitted in s. 776.012, s. 60 776.013, or s. 776.031 is justified in using such force and is 61 immune from criminal prosecution and civil action for the use of 62 such force, unless the person against whom force was used is a 63 law enforcement officer, as defined in s. 943.10(14), who was 64 acting in the performance of his or her official duties and the 65 officer identified himself or herself in accordance with any 66 applicable law or the person using force knew or reasonably 67 should have known that the person was a law enforcement officer. 68 As used in this subsection, the term “criminal prosecution” 69includes arresting, detaining in custody, andmeans charging or 70 prosecuting the defendant. 71 (2) A law enforcement agency shallmayuse standard 72 procedures for investigating the use of force as described in 73 subsection (1), but the agency may not arrest the person for74using force unless it determines that there is probable cause75that the force that was used was unlawful. 76 (3) The court mayshallaward reasonable attorney 77attorney’sfees, court costs, compensation for loss of income, 78 and all expenses incurred by the defendant in defense of any 79 civil action brought by a plaintiff if the court finds that the 80 defendant is immune from prosecution as provided in subsection 81 (1). 82 Section 3. Section 776.041, Florida Statutes, is amended to 83 read: 84 776.041 Use of force by aggressor.—The justification 85 described in the preceding sections of this chapter is not 86 available to a person who: 87 (1) Is attempting to commit, is committing, or is escaping 88 after the commission of, a forcible felony;or89 (2) Initially provokes the use of force against himself or 90 herself;,unless:91(a) Such force is so great that the person reasonably92believes that he or she is in imminent danger of death or great93bodily harm and that he or she has exhausted every reasonable94means to escape such danger other than the use of force which is95likely to cause death or great bodily harm to the assailant; or96(b) In good faith, the person withdraws from physical97contact with the assailant and indicates clearly to the98assailant that he or she desires to withdraw and terminate the99use of force, but the assailant continues or resumes the use of100force.101 (3) Leaves a place of safety to place himself or herself in 102 proximity to a situation likely to result in a use of force; or 103 (4) Pursues an alleged trespasser or assailant after the 104 alleged trespasser or assailant has withdrawn or when the 105 incident that gave rise to a previous confrontation has ended. 106 Section 4. Section 776.09, Florida Statutes, is created to 107 read: 108 776.09 Statewide system for reporting, tracking, and 109 disseminating information regarding self-defense claims and 110 claim resolutions.— 111 (1) The Legislature finds that transparency regarding the 112 outcomes of investigations into claims regarding the justifiable 113 use of force is vital to the integrity of this state’s law 114 enforcement function and to the public’s understanding of 115 incidents and cases involving any alleged justifiable use of 116 force. Therefore, it is in the best interests of the residents 117 of this state to establish a statewide database to track all 118 justifiable use of force claims made in this state, including 119 decisions on whether to arrest or prosecute persons who claimed 120 to have justifiably used force as permitted in this chapter and 121 the reasons for the decisions. 122 (2) The Department of Law Enforcement shall collect, 123 process, maintain, and disseminate information and data on all 124 incidents concerning the alleged justifiable use of force in 125 this state. The department shall annually report to the 126 Legislature the information and data in a format and manner 127 determined by the Legislature. 128 (3) Each law enforcement agency within the state shall 129 monthly report to the department all incidents and cases in 130 which a claim regarding the justifiable use of force is raised, 131 from the time an initial claim is raised through the full 132 resolution of the claim or case. 133 Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2013.