Here's Florida’s Next Trayvon Martin Case

[onenote]

121. And once again you fail to back up your misreading of the law

Not because you choose not to back it up, but because you simply can't.

And my answer is yes, a person who is scared of another person can still follow that person and confront them non-violently and claim self defense if the other person escalates the confrotation by putting the first person in reasonable fear of imminent death or great bodily harm. And that was the law even in a state with a duty to retreat.


Let's go back to my example. Let's say the guy who is owed money is 5 feet 5 inches and weighs 130 pounds. Let's say he knows that the guy he lent money to is 6 foot 4, 300 pounds, has a concealed weapons permit, and has a history of drunken bullying. The guy who is owed money tells the friend that calls him that he's scared of the victim, but he wants his money back, damn it, so he's coming to the bar to demand it. The defendant can claim self defense if the situation then plays itself out as I described. In an SYG state. Or in a non-SYG state. The law doesn't require people who are "scared" of other people to cower in the dark corners of their homes. They can confront the person that scares them and still claim self defense so long as they confrontation is non-violent.

I'll even support my position with a citation to legal authority. State v. Jackson, 94 Ariz. 117 (1963): "One who merely does an action which affords an oportunity for conflict is not therefore precluded from claiming self-defense. Fault implies misconduct, not lack of judgment." So if someone who is scared of someone makes the unwise choice of non-violently confronting that person, they can still claim self defense if the party they confront responds by actions that a reasonable person would view as creating an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm.


Your turn. Show me the legal authority for your position that people who are scared of other people can't claim self defense when they confront them lawfully (albeit ill-advisedly).