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The infamous Pasco County case from three years ago underscores the relevance of the law.

Eric Glasser, WTSP 6:32 PM. EST February 17, 2017

Former Tampa Police captain Curtis Reeves Jr. is suspected of fatally shooting Chad Oulson, 43, and wounding his wife, Nicole, 33. Tampa Bay Times photo

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. -- Just over three years ago, an argument over texting inside a Wesley Chapel movie theater got out of hand. Words flew. Then popcorn. A cell phone, and finally - a bullet.

On Monday, Curtis Reeves, 74, a retired Tampa police officer, will argue he was standing his ground when he shot and killed 43-year-old Chad Oulson.

Prosecutors will say Reeves is a hothead who lost his temper when Oulson was texting during the movie previews.

His defense attorneys will portray Reeves as an aging senior citizen who feared for his life when a far younger man stood up and confronted him.

Reeves' hearing is the latest in a series of high-profile Florida cases that show no clear-cut consistency when it comes to the Stand Your Ground defense.

Authorities say Curtis Reeves used this gun, a .380 caliber pistol, to shoot Chad Oulson in a Wesley Chapel movie theater. Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office

Perhaps the best-known case is that of George Zimmerman, who was acquitted in the 2012 death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.

But in 2010, a jury rejected the Stand Your Ground defense argument made by Trevor Dooley, who shot his neighbor David James on a Tampa basketball court.The argument was over a skateboarding disagreement. After several years behind bars, Dooley is currently out of prison pending an appeal.

In 2012, Michael David Dunn opened fire on a group of teenagers at a Jacksonville gas station.The so-called loud music shooter tried to invoke Stand Your Ground, but jurors said it was irrelevant and convicted Dunn on three counts of attempted murder.

In 2013, also in Jacksonville, Marissa Alexander fired a warning shot at what she called an abusive husband. She, too, tried to claim Stand Your Ground, but was convicted of attempted murder.

High-profile Tampa criminal attorney Barry Cohen, who has used Stand Your Ground as a defense, says there are key issues in Reeves case.

What's holding up the Curtis Reeves trial?

He's claiming that he took the life of the decedent in this case, because he was in a reasonable fear of having his life taken, or being suffered great bodily injury. Maybe he thought the telephone was a deadly weapon. Maybe he thought that he was going to choke him, or hit him, said Cohen.

Prosecutors will disagree.

The state will argue that this is not a Stand Your Ground case, said Cohen, But rather this was a police officer, a detective, who didn't get the respect that he thought he was entitled to. So, he says to the guy when he comes back, I told you, turn the phone off. The guy may say F you, throw popcorn in his face, or whatever, and he says, you know what? F me? I'll F you, I'll show you. Boom.

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If Curtis Reeves wins his Stand Your Ground hearing, it's over. He gets to walk out of court a free man.

But because there are so many arguable issues in this case, Cohen believes that the judge will move the case forward and leave those decisions to a jury.

( 2017 WTSP)

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