CA Penal Code for self defense; How does your state compare?

[tfr270]

Thought I'd share this one...and see if other states are better, worse, more clear, more vauge...that kind of thing...I think I'm surprised that we even have a Castle Doctrine of this type here. It sounds like I'd still get hooked and booked and need a good NRA attorney but in the end I'd be acquited if it went down like it says in this Penal Code section.

197.  Homicide is also justifiable when committed by any person in
any of the following cases:
   1. When resisting any attempt to murder any person, or to commit a
felony, or to do some great bodily injury upon any person; or,
   2. When committed in defense of habitation, property, or person,
against one who manifestly intends or endeavors, by violence or
surprise, to commit a felony, or against one who manifestly intends
and endeavors, in a violent, riotous or tumultuous manner, to enter
the habitation of another for the purpose of offering violence to any
person therein; or,
   3. When committed in the lawful defense of such person, or of a
wife or husband, parent, child, master, mistress, or servant of such
person, when there is reasonable ground to apprehend a design to
commit a felony or to do some great bodily injury, and imminent
danger of such design being accomplished; but such person, or the
person in whose behalf the defense was made, if he was the assailant
or engaged in mutual combat, must really and in good faith have
endeavored to decline any further struggle before the homicide was
committed; or,
   4. When necessarily committed in attempting, by lawful ways and
means, to apprehend any person for any felony committed, or in
lawfully suppressing any riot, or in lawfully keeping and preserving
the peace.


198.  A bare fear of the commission of any of the offenses mentioned
in subdivisions 2 and 3 of Section 197, to prevent which homicide
may be lawfully committed, is not sufficient to justify it.  But the
circumstances must be sufficient to excite the fears of a reasonable
person, and the party killing must have acted under the influence of
such fears alone.



198.5.  Any person using force intended or likely to cause death or
great bodily injury within his or her residence shall be presumed to
have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great
bodily injury to self, family, or a member of the household when that
force is used against another person, not a member of the family or
household, who unlawfully and forcibly enters or has unlawfully and
forcibly entered the residence and the person using the force knew or
had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry occurred.

   As used in this section, great bodily injury means a significant
or substantial physical injury.



199.  The homicide appearing to be justifiable or excusable, the
person indicted must, upon his trial, be fully acquitted and
discharged.

[Hazcat]

Florida

Senate Bill sb0436
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
    Florida Senate - 2005                                   SB 436

    By Senator Peaden





    2-361A-05

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the protection of persons

  3         and property; creating s. 776.013, F.S.;

  4         authorizing a person to use force, including

  5         deadly force, against an intruder or attacker

  6         in a dwelling, residence, or vehicle under

  7         specified circumstances; creating a presumption

  8         that a reasonable fear of death or bodily

  9         injury exists under certain circumstances;

10         creating a presumption that a person acts with

11         the intent to use force or violence under

12         specified circumstances; providing definitions;

13         amending ss. 776.012 and 776.031, F.S.;

14         providing that a person is justified in using

15         deadly force under certain circumstances;

16         declaring that a person is not under a duty to

17         retreat if the person is in a place where he or

18         she has a right to be; creating s. 776.032,

19         F.S.; providing immunity from criminal

20         prosecution or civil action for using deadly

21         force; authorizing a law enforcement agency to

22         investigate the use of deadly force but

23         prohibiting the agency from arresting the

24         person unless the agency determines that

25         probable cause exists showing that the force

26         the person used was unlawful; directing the

27         court to award attorney's fees, court costs,

28         loss of income, and other expenses under

29         specified circumstances; amending s. 776.041,

30         F.S.; revising the circumstances that justify

31 

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions

http://www.flsenate.gov/cgi-bin/view_page.pl?File=sb0436.html&Directory=session/2005/Senate/bills/billtext/html&Tab=session&Submenu=1

[Steyr M40A1]

I love the FL castle laws. And the fact that being a FL CCW allows us reciprocity with 3/4 of the states in the union. 

[fightingquaker13]

Indeed. There are times when I'm proud of my state. I have to say that Ca.'s dose not look so bad either, with its immunity from adjudication for defending yourself from any one breaking into a home.The exception I like, and it was part of Tx. law as well, is that if you provoke the fight , you do have duty to retreat. It would seem t prevent drunken idiocy, but only relevant if there are witnesses.

fq13

[tombogan03884]

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/xii/159/159-mrg.htm

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