(Note: This post has been updated to more accurately reflect the state of self-defense in immunity law in Ohio, which does not appear limited to acts of self-defense around one’s home as previously reported. Thanks to Peter Bossley for the insight–your complimentary copy of “The Law of Self Defense, 2nd Edition” goes in the mail tomorrow, Peter.)
Now that the Zimmerman criminal trial has concluded, much attention has focused on the prospects for Zimmerman seeking protection under Florida’s self-defense immunity statute from any possible civil action against him.
Florida’s statute 776.032, is among the broader self-defense immunity statutes, in that it possesses all four qualities of an optimal statute of this type.
First, it is not limited to particular settings or circumstances (e.g., such as to self-defense encounters in and around one’s home).
Second, it prohibits even the arrest of the person who acted in self-defense, in the absence of probable cause for such arrest.
Third, it immunizes against criminal as well as civil liability.
And, fourth, it provides for the defendant who successfully obtains immunity to recover all reasonable legal expenses (and, in the case of Florida, even compensation for lost income) from the plaintiff.
Fully 29 states provide some degree of limitation of liability for the individual who has genuinely acted in self-defense..........
(Excerpt) Read more at legalinsurrection.com ...
