Florida House Reloads Stand Your Ground Burden of Proof Bill

A bill to shift the burden of proof in “Stand Your Ground” cases has found a House sponsor, sealing the deal for a sequel in the Florida Legislature this year. 

Rep. Bobby Payne, R-Palatka, filed the legislation last Friday. HB 245 would shift the burden of proof in Stand Your Ground self-defense cases in the Sunshine State. 

If passed, HB 245 would give defendants more protection from prosecution in “Stand Your Ground” cases by requiring prosecutors to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” whether a defendant is entitled to immunity at a pretrial hearing in order to disprove a claim of self-defense immunity. 

The legislation would flip the responsibility onto the prosecutor to prove why a defendant shouldn’t be allowed to use the Stand Your Ground defense in court.

Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, filed the companion legislation (SB 128) to shift the burden of proof in self-defense cases last month. Now with joint legislation, the bill has the beginnings of what it needs to become a law in Florida. 

Bradley filed identical legislation during last year’s legislative session and the bill’s future seemed promising initially. The measure had a relatively easy time making its way through the Senate, but it did not fare as well in the House, where it stalled out in the House Justice Committee, flopping due to a 6-6 vote.

The measure came on the heels of a  Florida Supreme Court last summer which ruled defendants would be responsible for the burden of proof showing they shouldn’t be prosecuted in “Stand Your Ground” cases.

Supporters of the bill said the it’s crucial to protect Floridians’ right to self-defense. 
 
“We have an obligation to zealously guard the protections granted us all in the Constitution,” Sen. Bradley explained. 

The legislation had, at the time, gathered significant support from pro-gun groups like the National Rifle Association, which said the bill was vital for gun owners who may use their weapons to protect themselves in potentially harmful situations. 

Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law has been on the books since 2005, but it garnered national attention in 2014 during the Trayvon Martin case, where defendant George Zimmerman claimed he was using self-defense when he shot the black teenager to death in Florida. Zimmerman was acquitted for the crime.
 
The legislative session begins in March.

Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.