In Texas, we have something called the ‘stand your ground’ law. It is sometimes referred to as the ‘castle doctrine’ because of the adage ‘a person’s home is his castle.’ This law is based on the right to self-defense, which allows you to defend yourself or others if there is a reason to believe you may be in danger. This law has generated controversy, often because those who are either for or against it don’t fully understand the intricacies of this law.
Texas Stand Your Ground Law Defined
In Texas, the stand your ground law means that you don’t have to back down or retreat if you feel you are in danger of great bodily harm in your own home, car, or place of employment. Texas criminal defense attorneys can defend you, even if you had to use deadly force, by proving that you feared for your life or felt threatened, thus forcing you to protect yourself.
However, you and your Texas criminal defense attorney must be able to show that you didn’t provoke the person who attacked or threatened you and that you weren’t in violation of any laws at the time the incident took place.
When the Stand Your Ground Law Applies in Texas
According to the stand your ground law in Texas, you may use force in order to protect yourself in your home, motor vehicle, or place of employment if you were:
- Legally allowed to be at the location the incident occurred
- Not engaged in any illegal activities at the time of the incident
- Attacked without provoking the individual who attacked you
Additionally, under Texas’ stand your ground law, you are under no obligation to retreat when you believe you may be in danger of being injured or killed if you are threatened in your home, vehicle, or place of employment.
The use of deadly force may be justified if you believe it was necessary to prevent someone else from using the same type of force against you, or if you needed to prevent a violent crime such as sexual assault, murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, or aggravated robbery.
Excessive Force vs. Self-Defense
Most self-defense laws throughout the United States say if you believe that you are in danger of injury or death, you can use deadly force to stop another person from attacking you.
Self-defense, as it is defended in court, says that you may fight back. The injuries or death that may be a result of your self-defense is typically not punishable. However, there is a grey area in self-defense that you may have to overcome to defend yourself. Excessive force or deadly force when your life is not in danger is much more challenging to defend.
While stand your ground law is there to protect you if acted in self-defense, the fact is that every case is different and some are much more clear cut, while others can be much murkier. If your use of deadly force is questionable, or there were other ways to protect yourself, you must prove that you had a reasonable fear for your life.
The stand your ground law is there to protect those who act in reasonable self-defense, even with deadly force, because their own life depended on it, but it is not there to safeguard those who needlessly kill another. If you or a loved one is facing prosecution related to the stand your ground law in Texas, then you need to speak to an experienced attorney who has familiarity with these types of cases and how to best represent them.
The attorneys at Fears Nachawati have helped thousands of Texans all over the state on all manner of criminal and civil charges, including representing those who have had to defend themselves with deadly force.
Don’t delay in reaching out to our team to discuss the nature of your case and how we can best help you. Please call (866) 705-7584 or visit the offices of Fears Nachawati located throughout the great state of Texas, including in Houston, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, and San Antonio.