Nelson A. Pryor: Guest Columnist
What do you do if the Florida State Supreme Court cuts the heart out of the “Stand Your Ground” law, as they did in 2015? The court ruled that the defendant has the burden of proof before trial, if a “Stand Your Ground” defense, is pursued.
A bill, sponsored by State Representative Bobby Payne, Republican of Putnam County, would undo that burden by shifting that burden to prosecutors.
That bill was made a priority by the Republican Legislators of Florida. It passed both houses, and now has just been signed into law, by Governor Rick Scott.
The Associated Press reported on May 29, 2017, that Representative Payne favored the closing of that loophole which was opened up by the courts. He wanted Florida to also start a, state by state, national trend toward perfecting all “Stand Your Ground” laws, by amendment language to their own law, by shifting that burden off the defendant to prosecutors.
“It’s about following our right of innocent until proven guilty,” said Payne. “It’s about Fifth Amendment rights, it’s about due process, it’s about having a true immunity, for when folks really believe they’re in imminent threat of great bodily harm or death, to defend themselves properly.”
The measure, signed into law by Gov. Scott, a National Rifle Association supporter, has also been an NRA priority.
The NRA hopes that other State Legislatures are watching, and will adopt the same.
Rep. Payne’s proposed bill was not strong enough, originally, according to some State Senators. Note this paragraph from the AP story. “Senators originally wanted prosecutors to prove ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ before trial that self-defense didn’t justify a violent crime.” The final legislation lowered the threshold for prosecutors to ‘clear and convincing’ evidence.
Either way, it makes prosecuting a “Stand Your Ground” defense more difficult.
Public defenders say it should help people who were simply trying to defend themselves. Prosecutors often take upon themselves, the bully boy attitude, by implying the threat of minimum mandatory sentences to coerce law abiding citizens into accepting a plea deal even if their use of force was justified, said Stacy Scott, a public defender in Gainesville.
“It’s going to force them to deal more fairly with citizens who are charged with crimes, and will help our clients either get better plea offers or exonerate themselves earlier in the process so they don’t have to wait until a jury trial…in order to litigate their case,” said Scott.
Many States have long invoked “the castle doctrine,” allowing citizens to use even deadly force to defend themselves in their own homes.
Florida changed that in 2005, so that even outside a home, a person has no duty to retreat and can “Stand His Ground” anywhere they are legally allowed to be. Other States followed suit, and “Stand Your Ground” defenses became much more common in pre-trial immunity hearings and during trials.
The measure signed by Governor Scott would effectively require a trial-before-a trial whenever someone invokes self-defense, making prosecutors prove the suspect doesn’t deserve immunity.