Bill Text: IA SF137 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the justifiable use of reasonable force and providing a remedy.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 23-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-02-04 - Subcommittee, Sodders, Petersen, and Zaun. S.J. 214. [SF137 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2015-SF137-Introduced.html
Senate File 137 - Introduced SENATE FILE BY BERTRAND, ANDERSON, SCHULTZ, SINCLAIR, COSTELLO, FEENSTRA, SHIPLEY, KRAAYENBRINK, CHELGREN, BEHN, BREITBACH, GARRETT, SEGEBART, KAPUCIAN, ZAUN, CHAPMAN, ROZENBOOM, GUTH, DIX, ZUMBACH, WHITVER, SMITH, JOHNSON, and SCHNEIDER A BILL FOR 1 An Act relating to the justifiable use of reasonable force and 2 providing a remedy. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: TLSB 1342XS (3) 86 jm/rj PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. Section 704.1, Code 2015, is amended to read as 1 2 follows: 1 3 704.1 Reasonable force. 1 4 1. "Reasonable force"ismeans that forceand no morewhich 1 5 a reasonable person, in like circumstances, would judge to 1 6 be necessary to prevent an injury or loss and can include 1 7 deadly force if it is reasonable to believe that such force is 1 8 necessary to avoid injury or risk to one's life or safety or 1 9 the life or safety of another, or it is reasonable to believe 1 10 that such force is necessary to resist a like force or threat. 1 11 2. Reasonable force, including deadly force, may be used 1 12 even if an alternative course of action is available if the 1 13 alternative entails a risk to life or safety, or the life or 1 14 safety of a third party, or requires one to abandon or retreat1 15 from one's dwelling or place of business or employment. 1 16 3. A person may be wrong in the estimation of the danger or 1 17 the force necessary to repel the danger as long as there is a 1 18 reasonable basis for the belief of the person and the person 1 19 acts reasonably in the response to that belief. 1 20 4. A person who is not engaged in illegal activity has no 1 21 duty to retreat from any place where the person is lawfully 1 22 present before using force as specified in this chapter. 1 23 A finder of fact shall not be permitted to consider the 1 24 possibility of retreat as a factor in determining whether or 1 25 not a person who used force reasonably believed that the force 1 26 was necessary to prevent injury, loss, or risk to life or 1 27 safety. 1 28 Sec. 2. Section 704.2, Code 2015, is amended by adding the 1 29 following new subsection: 1 30 NEW SUBSECTION. 1A. A threat to cause serious injury 1 31 or death, by the production, display, or brandishing of a 1 32 deadly weapon, is not deadly force, as long as the actions of 1 33 the person are limited to creating an expectation that the 1 34 person may use deadly force to defend oneself, another, or as 1 35 otherwise authorized by law. 2 1 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 704.2A Justifiable use of deadly 2 2 force. 2 3 1. For purposes of this chapter, a person is presumed to 2 4 reasonably believe that deadly force is necessary to avoid 2 5 injury or risk to one's life or safety or the life or safety of 2 6 another in either of the following circumstances: 2 7 a. The person against whom force is used, at the time the 2 8 force is used, is doing any of the following: 2 9 (1) Unlawfully entering by force or stealth, or has 2 10 unlawfully entered by force or stealth and remains within the 2 11 dwelling, place of business or employment, or occupied vehicle 2 12 of the person using force. 2 13 (2) Unlawfully removing or is attempting to unlawfully 2 14 remove another person against the other person's will from the 2 15 dwelling, place of business or employment, or occupied vehicle 2 16 of the person using force. 2 17 b. The person using force knows or has reason to believe 2 18 that any of the conditions set forth in paragraph "a" are 2 19 occurring or have occurred. 2 20 2. The presumption set forth in subsection 1 does not 2 21 apply if, at the time force is used, any of the following 2 22 circumstances are present: 2 23 a. The person using defensive force is engaged in a 2 24 criminal offense, is attempting to escape from the scene of a 2 25 criminal offense that the person has committed, or is using the 2 26 dwelling, place of business or employment, or occupied vehicle 2 27 to further a criminal offense. 2 28 b. The person sought to be removed is a child or grandchild 2 29 or is otherwise in the lawful custody or under the lawful 2 30 guardianship of the person against whom force is used. 2 31 c. The person against whom force is used is a peace officer 2 32 who has entered or is attempting to enter a dwelling, place 2 33 of business or employment, or occupied vehicle in the lawful 2 34 performance of the peace officer's official duties, and the 2 35 person using force knows or reasonably should know that the 3 1 person who has entered or is attempting to enter is a peace 3 2 officer. 3 3 d. The person against whom the force is used has the right 3 4 to be in, or is a lawful resident of, the dwelling, place of 3 5 business or employment, or occupied vehicle of the person using 3 6 force, and a protective or no=contact order is not in effect 3 7 against the person against whom the force is used. 3 8 Sec. 4. Section 704.3, Code 2015, is amended to read as 3 9 follows: 3 10 704.3 Defense of self or another. 3 11 A person is justified in the use of reasonable force when 3 12 the person reasonably believes that such force is necessary to 3 13 defend oneself or another from any actual or imminent use of 3 14 unlawful force. 3 15 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 704.4A Immunity for justifiable use of 3 16 force. 3 17 1. As used in this section, "criminal prosecution" means 3 18 arrest, detention, charging, or prosecution. 3 19 2. A person who uses reasonable force pursuant to this 3 20 chapter shall be immune from any criminal prosecution or civil 3 21 action for using such force. 3 22 3. A law enforcement agency may use standard investigating 3 23 procedures for investigating the use of force, but the law 3 24 enforcement agency shall not arrest a person for using force 3 25 unless the law enforcement agency determines there is probable 3 26 cause that the force was unlawful under this chapter. 3 27 4. The court shall award reasonable attorney fees, court 3 28 costs, compensation for loss of income, and all expenses 3 29 incurred by the defendant in defense of any civil action 3 30 brought by the plaintiff if the court finds that the defendant 3 31 is immune from prosecution as provided in subsection 2. 3 32 Sec. 6. Section 704.7, Code 2015, is amended to read as 3 33 follows: 3 34 704.7 Resistingforcibleviolent felony. 3 35 1. As used in this section, "violent felony" means any 4 1 felonious sexual abuse involving compulsion or the use of a 4 2 weapon or any felonious assault, murder, kidnapping, robbery, 4 3 arson, or burglary. 4 4 2. A person whoknowsreasonably believes that aforcible4 5violent felony is being or will imminently be perpetrated is 4 6 justified in using, against the perpetrator,reasonable force, 4 7 including deadly force, against the perpetrator or perpetrators 4 8 to preventthe completion ofor terminate the perpetration of 4 9 that felony. 4 10 Sec. 7. REPEAL. Section 707.6, Code 2015, is repealed. 4 11 EXPLANATION 4 12 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 4 13 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly. 4 14 Current law provides that a person may use reasonable force, 4 15 including deadly force, even if an alternative course of action 4 16 is available if the alternative entails a risk of life or 4 17 safety, or the life or safety of a third party, or requires one 4 18 to abandon or retreat from one's residence or place of business 4 19 or employment. 4 20 This bill provides that a person may use reasonable force, 4 21 including deadly force, if it is reasonable to believe such 4 22 force is necessary to avoid injury or risk to one's life or 4 23 safety or the life or safety of another, even if an alternative 4 24 course of action is available if the alternative entails a risk 4 25 to life or safety, or the life or safety of a third party. 4 26 The bill provides that a person may be wrong in the 4 27 estimation of the danger or the force necessary to repel the 4 28 danger as long as there is a reasonable basis for the belief 4 29 and the person acts reasonably in the response to that belief. 4 30 The bill further provides that a person who is not engaged in 4 31 an illegal activity has no duty to retreat from any place where 4 32 the person is lawfully present before using force. The bill 4 33 prohibits a finder of fact from considering the possibility of 4 34 retreat as a factor in determining whether or not a person who 4 35 used force reasonably believed that the force was necessary to 5 1 prevent injury, loss, or risk to life or safety. 5 2 The bill provides that a threat to cause serious injury 5 3 or death by the production, display, or brandishing of a 5 4 deadly weapon, is not deadly force, as long as the actions of 5 5 the person are limited to creating an expectation that the 5 6 person may use deadly force to defend oneself, another, or as 5 7 otherwise authorized by law. 5 8 The bill creates presumptions for the justifiable use of 5 9 deadly force in certain circumstances. 5 10 Under the bill, a person is presumed to be justified in 5 11 using deadly force if the person reasonably believes that 5 12 deadly force is necessary to avoid injury or risk to one's 5 13 life or safety or the life or safety of another under the 5 14 following circumstances: the person against whom force is used 5 15 is unlawfully entering by force or stealth, or has unlawfully 5 16 entered by force or stealth and remains within a dwelling, 5 17 place of business or employment, or occupied vehicle of the 5 18 person using force; or the person against whom force is used 5 19 is unlawfully removing or attempting to remove another person 5 20 against the other person's will from a dwelling, place of 5 21 business or employment, or occupied vehicle of the person using 5 22 force. In addition, the person using force must know or have 5 23 reason to believe that the aforementioned circumstances are 5 24 occurring or have occurred. 5 25 The presumption of the use of justifiable deadly force 5 26 under the bill does not apply at the time force is used in the 5 27 following circumstances: the person using defensive force is 5 28 engaged in a criminal offense or activity; the person sought 5 29 to be removed is a child or grandchild or is otherwise in the 5 30 lawful custody of the person against whom force is used; the 5 31 person against whom force is used is a peace officer who has 5 32 entered or is attempting to enter a dwelling, place of business 5 33 or employment, or occupied vehicle in the lawful performance 5 34 of the peace officer's official duties, and the person using 5 35 force knows or reasonably should know that the person who has 6 1 entered or is attempting to enter is a peace officer; or the 6 2 person against whom force is used has the right to be in, or 6 3 is a lawful resident of, the dwelling, place of business or 6 4 employment, or occupied vehicle of the person using force, and 6 5 a protective or no=contact order is not in effect against the 6 6 person against whom the force is used. 6 7 The bill provides that a person is justified in the use of 6 8 reasonable force when the person reasonably believes that such 6 9 force is necessary to defend oneself or another from any actual 6 10 as well as imminent use of unlawful force. 6 11 The bill repeals Code section 707.6 and consolidates 6 12 criminal and civil immunity provisions in new Code section 6 13 704.4A. Under the bill, a person who uses reasonable force 6 14 shall be immune from any criminal prosecution or civil action 6 15 for using such force. 6 16 Under the bill, a law enforcement agency shall not arrest a 6 17 person for using force unless it determines there is probable 6 18 cause that the force was unlawful under Code chapter 704. 6 19 The bill also provides that if a defendant is sued by a 6 20 plaintiff for using reasonable force, the court shall award the 6 21 defendant reasonable attorney fees, court costs, compensation 6 22 for loss of income, and expenses if the court finds the 6 23 defendant is immune from prosecution. 6 24 The bill also provides that a person who reasonably 6 25 believes that a violent felony is being or will imminently be 6 26 perpetrated is justified in using reasonable force, including 6 27 deadly force, against a perpetrator to prevent or terminate the 6 28 perpetration of that felony. The bill defines "violent felony" 6 29 to mean any felonious assault, murder, violent or forced sexual 6 30 abuse, kidnapping, robbery, arson, or burglary. LSB 1342XS (3) 86 jm/rj