'Stand Your Ground': History and Effects

This slide presentation discusses Stand Your Ground laws in other states and available research on the impact of these laws. The presentation was presented as part of a community forum at Clark Middle School in Anchorage on "Stand Your Ground Law in Alaska" sponsored by the Anchorage Community Police Relations Task Force and the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission.Defining "stand your ground" / States with “stand your ground” / Why “stand your ground” / Effects of “stand your ground” / Academic research / Further informatio

American Bar Association National Task Force on Stand Your Ground Laws: Preliminary Report and Recommendations

The ABA's National Task Force on Stand Your Ground Laws conducted a broad investigation of Stand Your Ground laws across the United States. Much of the recent media attention surrounding Stand Your Ground laws is due to the nationally publicized fatal shooting of the Florida teenager, Trayvon Martin, and the subsequent prosecution and acquittal of George Zimmerman. However, the Task Force's investigation went well beyond Florida's laws and did not focus on any one case. The Task Force explored the broad national landscape of Stand Your Ground laws and how they impact public safety and the criminal justice system. The Task Force analyzed the impact these laws have on a individual's right of self-defense, as well as a victim's right to be informed, present, and heard, and a criminal defendant's right to a fair and just trial. This report details the Task Force's investigation, including the public hearings that were conducted in five regional fora, the 50 state legal survey of the laws, and the latest social science data on the efficacy of Stand Your Ground laws. As of 2014, 33 states have Stand Your Ground laws. In these states an individual has no duty to retreat before using deadly force in self-defense, either at home or in public

Standing Up to Stand Your Ground Laws: How the Modern NRA-Inspired Self-Defense Statutes Destroy the Principle of Necessity, Disrupt the Criminal Justice System, and Increase Overall Violence

A majority of states have enacted Stand Your Ground laws. Proponents argue that such laws enhance the important right of self-defense. In application, however, Stand Your Ground laws have had a negative impact on society. First, these laws ignore the common-law element of necessity that traditionally provided a check on unreasonable self-defense. Second, the laws create presumptions that remove important discretionary powers from law enforcers, prosecutors, and judges. Third, studies have shown that Stand Your Ground laws may actually increase violent crime. The Stand Your Ground movement continues to enjoy a great degree of political success due to its formula of politicizing violent street crime and exploiting the public’s fear of victimization, as well as its overall distrust of the criminal justice system

Unintended Lawlessness of Stand Your Ground: Justitia Fiat Coelum Ruat

This paper will examine Florida\u27s Stand Your Ground law by analyzing the origins and purpose of the law, vis-a-vis comparative analysis, and by discussing the application of this law. It will compare the stories of victims and further dissect the necessity and benefits of the Stand Your Ground laws, and examine in particular how it has affected the citizens of Florida and the nation. This Article will examine unforeseen outcomes derived from the enactment of a law meant for the common good and will further discuss how the Castle Doctrine evolved into the current Stand Your Ground laws. It will use a comparative approach to examine the origins of Stand Your Ground laws; and provide anecdotal cases of how the law has been applied in Florida, which has led to disparate, conflicting, and confusing results in many Florida courts

Three Questions About Stand Your Ground Laws

Stand Your Ground laws, and the issues they generate, do raise serious questions about what constitutes justice in cases that give rise to claims of self-defense. In order to resolve those questions, we first need to understand what the self-defense doctrine actually says and how it was designed to work. It is necessary to specify the ways in which Stand Your Ground provisions do, and do not, affect that doctrine. In this Essay I will raise three issues about Stand Your Ground and self-defense. In addressing these issues I will use Florida law as a template because the Stand Your Ground provisions in that state have served as a model for other similar statutes across the country. I will also focus on the rules governing use of deadly force, since it is those provisions that have caused most of the controversy

Three Questions About Stand Your Ground Laws

Stand Your Ground laws, and the issues they generate, do raise serious questions about what constitutes justice in cases that give rise to claims of self-defense. In order to resolve those questions, we first need to understand what the self-defense doctrine actually says and how it was designed to work. It is necessary to specify the ways in which Stand Your Ground provisions do, and do not, affect that doctrine. In this Essay I will raise three issues about Stand Your Ground and self-defense. In addressing these issues I will use Florida law as a template because the Stand Your Ground provisions in that state have served as a model for other similar statutes across the country. I will also focus on the rules governing use of deadly force, since it is those provisions that have caused most of the controversy

The Fight or Flight Response: A Look at Stand Your Ground

In addressing the historical importance—or lack thereof—of the Stand Your Ground law, this article discusses the evolution of self-defense laws. Specific landmark cases are discussed as they relate to establishing the foundation of self-defense. The article also examines various issues that have been inherent within the Stand Your Ground debate. Statistical analysis of Stand Your Ground data from the State of Florida is conducted using binary logistic regression model to test the relationship between case outcomes and a number of other variables involving demographics, and the nature of the confrontation that led to the crim