Stand Your Ground Defense

They are similar. However, the SYG law allows a defendant to get a dismissal before trial. Filing a certified Motion To Dismiss does this. “Certified” means that a motion contains an affidavit at the end where the defendant swears the facts to be true under penalty of perjury. Prior to the enactment of the SYG law, the defendant who asserted self-defense had to endure the stress of a trial in order to be exonerated. Therefore, some who legitimately acted in self-defense were accepting plea offers for probation because they were afraid of a trial. The SYG law avoids this evil by giving the defendant the right to have the case dismissed by the judge prior to trial.

The first difference is that the judge decides the issue in a SYG motion. At trial, a jury decides the issue of self-defense. Juries are usually more favorable to defendants then judges. The second difference is that a judge can deny your SYG defense if the prosecutor produces “clear and convincing” evidence that you did not act in self-defense. At trial, the jury can only deny your self-defense claim if the prosecutor produces evidence “beyond a reasonable doubt” that you did not act in self-defense. So, defendants actually have a better chance of winning at a jury trial if they are willing to endure the stress of a trial. Therefore, a defendant can still go to trial on a claim of self-defense even if his SYG motion is denied.

Many defendants confuse “self-defense” with “revenge.” Self-defense is when you use or threaten force to prevent an attack. Revenge is when you use or threaten force after the attacker retreats. Example: A landlord confronts a tenant who is stealing furniture from the house. The tenant pushes the landlord down, threatens to shoot him, and speeds away in his truck loaded with the furniture. The landlord gets up and shoots at the fleeing truck. Sorry, this is not self-defense.

Judges have frequently treated a SYG motion as if it were a Rule 3.190 (c)(4) Motion To Dismiss. In a (c)(4) motion, the judge will deny the motion if material facts are in dispute. But recent case law has refuted this interpretation. The correct law is that a SYG motion is brought pursuant to Rule 3.190(b) and the judge is to make findings of fact just like he would in a motion to suppress.

Many defense attorneys do not realize that they can appeal a denial of a SYG motion before the trial commences. The SYG law grants a defendant immunity from prosecution if he acted in self-defense. This grant of immunity is so fundamental that the law grants a defendant the right to appeal a denial of this immunity. Therefore, trials are often delayed for another year while the defendant appeals the trial court’s ruling denying his SYG motion.