Under Florida Statutes section 776.013 , if you are in your home and another person unlawfully and forcibly enters your home, you do not have to retreat and can stand your ground and defend yourself and your home. This includes using nondeadly force or even deadly force if you reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to yourself or others or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony.
In self-defense cases, whether you had a reasonable belief that you were in danger from another is judge by an objective standard, i.e. whether a reasonable person would have had that belief based on the facts and circumstances. However, the fact that another person broke into your home creates a presumption of reasonable belief that the state would have the burden to overcome if charging you with the unlawful use of force against another.
This law applies to someone breaking into your car while you are in it as well and entitles you to use force to defend yourself against a carjacking, robbery or other violent crime. Also, under Florida Statutes 782.02 , the use of deadly force is considered justifiable if you are in your home resisting another’s attempt to murder you or commit any felony on you or your property.
There are many details, exceptions and complexities surrounding the Florida stand-your-ground law, so it is very important to talk with a skilled and knowledgeable criminal defense attorney who has experience and success using self-defense in criminal prosecutions. Orlando criminal defense attorney Mark O’Mara has tried numerous cases involving the stand-your-ground law and successfully represented George Zimmerman on self-defense grounds when he was charged with second-degree murder.
