Florida Senate - 2017                              CS for SB 128
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Judiciary; and Senators Bradley, Simpson,
       Bean, and Baxley
       
       590-00958-17                                           2017128c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to self-defense immunity; amending s.
    3         776.032, F.S.; providing that the state has the burden
    4         of proving that a defendant is not immune from
    5         prosecution under certain circumstances; providing an
    6         effective date.
    7          
    8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
    9  
   10         Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 776.032, Florida
   11  Statutes, is republished, and subsection (4) is added to that
   12  section, to read:
   13         776.032 Immunity from criminal prosecution and civil action
   14  for justifiable use or threatened use of force.—
   15         (1) A person who uses or threatens to use force as
   16  permitted in s. 776.012, s. 776.013, or s. 776.031 is justified
   17  in such conduct and is immune from criminal prosecution and
   18  civil action for the use or threatened use of such force by the
   19  person, personal representative, or heirs of the person against
   20  whom the force was used or threatened, unless the person against
   21  whom force was used or threatened is a law enforcement officer,
   22  as defined in s. 943.10(14), who was acting in the performance
   23  of his or her official duties and the officer identified himself
   24  or herself in accordance with any applicable law or the person
   25  using or threatening to use force knew or reasonably should have
   26  known that the person was a law enforcement officer. As used in
   27  this subsection, the term “criminal prosecution” includes
   28  arresting, detaining in custody, and charging or prosecuting the
   29  defendant.
   30         (4) In a criminal prosecution, a defendant may file a
   31  pretrial motion claiming the right to the immunity from
   32  prosecution set forth in subsection (1). The motion must clearly
   33  state the reasons that the defendant is immune and allege the
   34  facts on which the claim of immunity is based. The court shall
   35  grant the motion after a pretrial hearing unless the state
   36  proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is not
   37  immune. If the motion is not granted, the motion and its
   38  contents are inadmissible at trial.
   39         Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.