Mediaboss Marketing

WWSB ABC 7

Stand Your Ground law shifts burden of proof to prosecutors WWSB ABC 7 New changes are in place for Florida's controversial "Stand Your Ground" law. The changes will likely make it harder to prosecute people claiming they used violence in self defense. Governor Rick Scott recently signed a bill into law that shifts the ...

Read the original post:
Stand Your Ground law shifts burden of proof to prosecutors - WWSB ABC 7

Bradenton Herald

Change to 'Stand Your Ground' law taking center stage in murder trial Bradenton Herald Changes made to Florida's Stand Your Ground law are taking center stage in the case against a Bradenton man charged with the October 2015 fatal shooting of another man. Juan Carlos Ramirez, 32, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of ...

Read this article:
Change to 'Stand Your Ground' law taking center stage in murder trial - Bradenton Herald

June 12, 2017 8:58 AM

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) A change is coming to Floridas stand your ground self-defense law.

The self-defense bill introduced in the last state legislative session stemmed from a Florida Supreme Court ruling in 2015 that said defendants have the burden of proof to show they should be shielded from prosecution under the stand your ground law.

In stand your ground cases, pre-trial evidentiary hearings are held to determine whether defendants should be immune from prosecution.

The bill which was approved, and signed by Gov. Rick Scott late last week, shifts the burden of proof from defendants to prosecutors in the pre-trial hearings.

Supporters of the bill, such as National Rifle Association lobbyist Marion Hammer, said shifting the burden of proof would better protect the rights of defendants.

The `burden of proof bill restores the presumption of innocence in self-defense cases, Hammer told The News Service of Florida this week. It puts the burden of proof back on the state, where it belongs.

Labeled by Democrats as a shoot to kill bill, critics argue that the change could lead to cases ending before all the facts are revealed and that the bill would increase costs for state attorneys offices.

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.

About Us

Advertise

Business Development

Contact

Mobile

Connect

CBS Television Public File

CBS Radio Public File

Link:
Burden Of Proof Changing In State's Stand Your Ground Law - CBS Miami

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

Breitbart News reported on March 10 that Florida Republicans were pushing legislation that would put the onus on the state when self-defense was claimed. It forces prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendants claim to self-defense was not valid before a case could go to trial. In other words, the state law-abiding citizen who used a gun for self-defense would be innocent until proven guilty, and his or her claim of acting in self-defense would be valid unless the state could demonstrate otherwise.

The New York Times went apoplectic over this legislation, claiming the original Stand Your Ground law was bad and the enhancements only make it worse.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has now joined the fray of naysayers with an editorial that claims enhancing Floridas Stand Your Ground law could lead to enhancing Missouris Stand Your Ground Law, which may only lead to more homicides in Missouri.

The outlet writes, In the tumble-down effect that Republican-controlled states have on each other, theres little doubt that similar legislation will surface in Missouri. Critics say a reduced fear of prosecution could prompt an increase in homicides.

The editorial latercites the example of 17-year-old Jordan Davis as an example of the dangers of Stand Your Ground. Davis was a black teen who was shot and killed by a white man, Michael Dunn, over loud music in November 2012. The problem with this example is that Dunn was given life in prison for the shooting, without the possibility of parole. Therefore, it was not a case that fell under the protections of Stand Your Ground.

This effort to flee to examples of white-on-black shootings toundermine Stand Your Ground is itself undermined by Crime Prevention Research Centers John Lott. His latest work on Stand Your Ground shows that the law actually benefits blacks in Florida more than whites. In his book, The War on Guns: Arming Yourself Against Gun Control Lies, Lott explains, From 2005 through October 1, 2014, blacks made up 16.7 percent of Floridas population and 34 percent of the defendants who invoked Stand Your Ground. He adds, Black defendants who invoke this statute are actually acquitted four percentage points more frequently than whites who use this very same defense.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.

See the original post:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Enhancing Florida's Stand Your Ground Law Could Increase Missouri's Homicides - Breitbart News

Several high-profile bills lawmakers passed during the 2017 session were officially sent to Gov. Rick Scott's desk this afternoon -- including a controversial shift in the state's Stand Your Ground law, an expansive public records exemption that would permanently seal millions of criminal and arrest records, and a higher education reform bill that's a top priority of Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart.

Scott now has 15 days to decide whether they should become law. He can either sign them, veto them or let them become law by default.

Negron's higher ed bill (SB 374) was one of several budget-related measures from the Senate that were sent to Scott on Monday, marking another key step in the process of adopting spending for the 2017-18 fiscal year that begins July 1. (Scott approved the main budget act on Friday, with several substantial vetoes that included base state funding for K-12 schools -- a chunk of spendinglawmakers will do-over in a three-day special session later this week.)

The Senate's "conforming" bills are complementary to the main budget and deal with specific issues, such as colleges and universities, the state pension system, health care and the clerks of court. The House has its own conforming bills, amongwhich is HB 7069,a highly contentious K-12 public schools bill; none of those have been sent to Scott yet.

The change to Florida's Stand Your Ground law (SB 128) -- which shifts the burden of proof in pretrial hearings to prosecutors -- passed the Legislature on the final day of the regularly scheduled session as part of a deal to also pass a bill dealing with religious expression in public K-12 schools (SB 436). That legislation was also sent to Scott Monday.

Meanwhile, SB 118 could virtually eliminate Floridians access to many individuals criminal histories in the name of addressing stigma against those accused, but not convicted, of crimes. It has drawn opposition from open government advocates and is one of several bills the First Amendment Foundation has asked Scott to veto.

More here:
Senate budget bills, Stand Your Ground change among 24 proposals sent to Gov. Scott today - Tampabay.com (blog)