Florida’s Stand Your Ground Statute

Few cases have captivated the Tampa area as the case of State of Florida v. Trevor Dooley, this case quickly gained fame because of Florida’s Stand Your Ground Statute. In light of the shooting involving George Zimmerman and Trevon Martin, the national media quickly focused its spotlight to include the incident involving Trevor Dooley. Unfortunately through the unforgiving lens and commentary of the media, many misconceptions have developed about Florida’s Stand Your Ground Statute or Florida Statute Section 776.012.

First and foremost, Florida’s Stand Your Ground statute is not an entirely new creation from the Florida Legislature; rather it is simply an extension of previously decided Florida case law about self-defense. Florida courts have long held those facing threat of physical violence or harm to themselves could legally defend themselves. The most significant change in Florida’s Stand Your Ground statute was that it eliminated the requirement for an individual to attempt to retreat.

Secondly, those accused of various crimes in the Florida including, but not limited to battery, assault, aggravated battery, aggravated assault and murder. This Statute offers absolute immunity to a number of different criminal charges. Generally, the defense is available to those charged involving a victim, but it is important for your attorney to consider the specific facts of your case. It is important for any Florida criminal defense attorney to consider the defense early in their representation of those charged with applicable crimes. It is also critical that your Florida criminal defense attorney begin presenting your Stand Your Ground defense to the Assistant State Attorney prosecuting the case even prior to charges or an information being filed in your case. This could save you critical time and money in defending yourself against the charges.

Lastly, Florida courts interpretations of the Statute have created several issues for Florida criminal defense attorneys. Initially, there were disputes over whether the motion for immunity under Florida’s Stand Your Ground statute had to be denied by the presiding court because of factual disputes between the accused and the State Attorney’s Office. In Dennis v. State, the Florida Supreme Court required trial courts to determine factual disputes prior to ruling on motions for immunity under Florida’s Stand Your Ground statute.

If you or someone you know has been charged with a crime involving any victim, it is important they immediately contact Blumenauer and Hackworth for a free case consultation as soon as possible. People like you being arrested and charged is why we created butididntdoit.com because there are times when you didn’t do it. Remember the faster we get the case, the faster we start to fight for you.