Texas Castle Doctrine/Stand Your Ground Law Update

Earlier I had reported that the legislation that passed through committee was not the same as introduced. At the time, the amended legislation was not available online, and I had some concerns about the changes. You can read my earlier post here.

The amended text of HB 284 and SB 378 are now posted online. The House and Senate bills are exactly the same, so all of my links will be to the House bill. You can find the original and amended text here.

The committee substitute is not as bad as I had originally thought. The intent of the bill has been protected.

Unlawful force is still adequately defined. The committee added the words "and with force" and "occupied" as follows:

(1) unlawfully and with force entered, or was attempting to enter unlawfully and with force, the actor's occupied habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment;

(2) unlawfully and with force removed, or was attempting to remove unlawfully and with force, the actor from the actor's habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment;

The requirement to retreat is still removed and the legislation still protects us from criminal prosecution.

My primary concern with the committee substitute to this bill was the changes to the provisions pertaining to protection from civil actions.

The original bill contained the following:

83.001. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE. It is an affirmative defense to a civil action for damages for personal injury or death that the defendant, at the time the cause of action arose, was justified in using deadly force under Subchapter C, Chapter 9, Penal Code. The following is removed: (against a person who at the time of the use of force was committing an offense of unlawful entry in the habitation of the defendant.)

83.002. COURT COSTS, ATTORNEY'S FEES, AND OTHER EXPENSES. A defendant who prevails in asserting the affirmative defense described by Section 83.001 may recover from the plaintiff all court costs, reasonable attorney's fees, earned income that was lost as a result of the suit, and other reasonable expenses.

The committee substitute changed 83.001 to read:

Sec. 83.001. CIVIL IMMUNITY A defendant who uses force or deadly force that is justified under Chapter 9, Penal Code, is immune from civil liability for personal injury or death that results from the defendant's use of force or deadly force, as applicable.

and deletes 83.002.

I like civil immunity much better than an affirmative defense.

I am not real happy with the committee adding the words "and with force" to the legislation. These words have the potential of opening loopholes for prosecutors and civil lawyers. If a goblin enters a home via an unlocked door, has he entered "with force"?

Other than that, this is good legislation. This is a vast improvement over our current law.

In a nutshell.

HB 284 and SB 378 -

1. Define unlawful force as it pertains to a goblin.

2. State that a citizen is justified in using deadly force against a goblin using unlawful force.

3. State that a citizen is not required to retreat from a goblin using unlawful force.

and...

4. Grant civil immunity to a citizen who has used deadly force against a goblin who decided to use unlawful force against the citizen.

This is good law. If you are a Texan, please contact your Representatives and ask them to support SB 378 and HB 284.