People also get acquitted of drunk driving all the time. It doesn't mean it's time for me to grab a six-pack and some car keys.
Hypothetical
- Thread starter Pondoro
- Start date
People also get acquitted of drunk driving all the time. It doesn't mean it's time for me to grab a six-pack and some car keys.
fredj338
Member
I think there are plenty of SD scenarios that would be indisputable in court. Violent, armed attack on your person where you sustain a serious injury, yeah that one will go pretty smoothly. The ones where you can not prove imminent death or injury, like running out in front of a moving car & shooting the driver, not so much.
fredj338
Member
Not quite the same thing as the OP suggested.
Some states hold burglary as entry with intent to commit any crime, not just theft; e.g., entry with intent to administer an
ars whuppin, would constitute burglary.
Even if Texas Penal Code allows it I would not fire at a fleeing felon in the scenario the OP described. If my life or physical well being, or someone else's, is not threatened I am not interested in killing someone to save a TV.
fredj338
Member
Yes but I think still requires a building to be entered, not something taken off your property, like a vehicle in the drive way or maybe even an open carport?? Plenty of burglary charges are pled down to B&E.
What's the difference?
In Florida the wording is "or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony"
If the vehicle's driving away, how could someone shoot the radiator? It would have to be akin to the Bill Hickok-Dave Tutt shot. I know laws vary from state to state. Here in Michigan, in this particular scenario, deadly force wouldn't be authorized. It wasn't self defense. Don't get me wrong, the prospect of getting robbed doesn't appeal to me either, but that's why I pay an insurance note. I run outside and start snapping caps, I'll be the one in the back seat of a police cruiser.
I'm a lawyer..... but not a criminal lawyer.
My thoughts on this "Hypothetical"
What's legal and what's the smart thing to do ........ aren't always the same!!!
Sometimes common sense trumps the law!
What does your common sense tell you to do or not do?
My thoughts on this "Hypothetical"
What's legal and what's the smart thing to do ........ aren't always the same!!!
Sometimes common sense trumps the law!
What does your common sense tell you to do or not do?
keith44spl
Member
A Deputy I know worked a similar kinda deal.......
Man breaks in a home, with the occupants in the dwelling.
Home owner shoots at machete wielding intruder, outlaw exits dwelling
and attempts to steal homeowner's car. Homeowner shoots at outlaw some more.
Outlaw runs away....And is later captured and jailed.
Homeowner not charged with any violations of the law.
And so it is, in small town rural America. Where the DA serves
and protects his constituents and prosecutes the criminals.
.
Man breaks in a home, with the occupants in the dwelling.
Home owner shoots at machete wielding intruder, outlaw exits dwelling
and attempts to steal homeowner's car. Homeowner shoots at outlaw some more.
Outlaw runs away....And is later captured and jailed.
Homeowner not charged with any violations of the law.
And so it is, in small town rural America. Where the DA serves
and protects his constituents and prosecutes the criminals.
.
keith44spl
Member
LOL Rural small town America...... bet the keys were in the car!
Most likely, mine are....
When I get in one of the ranch trucks, tractors or any other piece of equipment...I expect the keys to be in em.
I only lockup my un-marked car....
Just to keep the grandsons from playing with the light and siren.
.
Lightfoot4
Member
Looks like everyone has covered the bases, and I'll probably be repetitive, but figure I might as well add my two cents. While I've entertained the thought of shooting out tires, radiator, etc. to keep them from leaving, the consequences of that action depends on where you are, the whims of your district attorney, and even who you are. Locally we had a lady cop walk out of a building to see someone stealing her personal car. She shot the dude dead and didn't get charged. A normal citizen would have been charged. And firing to stop a car is akin to a warning shot and I've read cases of people going down for firing a warning shot.
The bottom line is that I'm not going to do ANYTHING that would put my fate in the hands of some anti-gun district attorney, or some ignorant jury, unless my life absolutely depended on it. If I'm firing a shot it's because of an imminent fear of death or great bodily harm, not because my tv, truck, boat, etc. is being stolen. I don't care if the law allows it either. It's not that I think some criminal scum's life is more valuable than my stuff, it's because sometimes it's still subjective as to whether or not you're going to be charged with a crime. If I shoot someone, or fire my gun, it's because I HAD to, not because I could, or wanted to.
The bottom line is that I'm not going to do ANYTHING that would put my fate in the hands of some anti-gun district attorney, or some ignorant jury, unless my life absolutely depended on it. If I'm firing a shot it's because of an imminent fear of death or great bodily harm, not because my tv, truck, boat, etc. is being stolen. I don't care if the law allows it either. It's not that I think some criminal scum's life is more valuable than my stuff, it's because sometimes it's still subjective as to whether or not you're going to be charged with a crime. If I shoot someone, or fire my gun, it's because I HAD to, not because I could, or wanted to.
dougb1946
Member
In MN, deadly force is a lot resort. You are expected to vacate your home if safe to do so, and can not use deadly force to recover things. You can use reasonable force to recover property, and if the BG escalates to what a reasonable person sees as deadly, you can respond.
In Minneapolis, a thug was stealing a little old ladies purse, and pistol whipping her till she let loose. Armed licensed good guy gave chase to recover the purse and caught up with the BG. BG tried to draw from a pocket, Good guy responded. BG died of a case of the slows. Law breaks it down into separate acts. The chase was legal, the self defense was legal.
In Minneapolis, a thug was stealing a little old ladies purse, and pistol whipping her till she let loose. Armed licensed good guy gave chase to recover the purse and caught up with the BG. BG tried to draw from a pocket, Good guy responded. BG died of a case of the slows. Law breaks it down into separate acts. The chase was legal, the self defense was legal.
EMP3
Member
A private person can effect an arrest, commonly known as citizen's arrest. The arrested person must submit to process of law. A citizen can use force necessary to overcome force exerted by suspect who resists process of law. Therefore, a hypothetical suspect would be the escalator & citizen could respond within law to escalator's resistance to process of law.
Should a felon's resistance to process of law force a citizen to use force necessary to overcome resistance, it wouldn't be to protect his property. It would be in accordance with process of law (citzen's arrest).
However, a live witness beats a dead hero every time. Call cops. They have resources to effect an arrest.
Rastoff
US Veteran
Are you being serious?
