Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney
publishes his first article in his series of Instructional Articles, the first
one on recent changes to Florida’s self-defense laws
In his first article in his
instructional series, veteran criminal defense attorney Patrick Michael Megaro
comments on Martin v. State, an appellate decision from the Second District
Court of Appeal of Florida, dealing with recent changes to Florida’s self
defense laws.
Florida legislature’s amendment to section
776.032 marks an important shift in self defense laws in the state of
Florida. As the Martin court explained
“[t]he Florida Legislature's amendment to section 776.032 added the following
provision: (4) In a criminal prosecution, once a prima facie claim of self defense
immunity from criminal prosecution has been raised by the defendant at a
pretrial immunity hearing, the burden of proof by clear and convincing evidence
is on the party seeking to overcome the immunity from criminal prosecution
provided in subsection (1).” The Martin
court went on to explain that “as it now stands, the State bears the burden of
disproving, by clear and convincing evidence, a facially sufficient claim of
self-defense immunity in a criminal prosecution.”
This is obviously a very important
change in criminal cases involving self defense claims. Before the amendment, criminal defendants in
Florida who wished to assert self defense had the burden of proof. It was the defendant that had to convince the
jury that their actions were justified due to self defense. After the amendment, the defendant only has
to present a facially sufficient claim of self defense, a very low bar. The burden of proof now rests on the
prosecution to show that there was no justification for self defense, and the
burden is by clear and convincing evidence, one step below beyond reasonable
doubt, but still a very significant hurdle.
Martin case went on to address
whether the amendment applies only to cases going forward or retroactively to
all existing criminal cases. “Statutory
amendments may take one of three forms: substantive, which are usually applied
prospectively, or procedural or remedial, either of which may apply
retroactively to pending proceedings”, the Martin court explained. The court discussed that “[i]n the context of
criminal cases specifically, ‘substantive law is that which declares what acts
are crimes and prescribes the punishment therefor, while procedural law is that
which provides or regulates the steps by which one who violates a criminal
statute is punished.’”
The Martin court noted that “[i]n Florida, statutory changes to
the burden of proof—the change at issue here—are invariably deemed procedural
in nature for purposes of retroactive application.” Therefore, “[s]ubsection (4) now ascribes to
the State what had, under common law precedent, been the defendant's burden of
proof. That is not a substantive change. Neither the substantive rights of a
successful claim of immunity nor the necessary elements of proof to establish a
claim of immunity were altered by the June 9, 2017, amendment.” Thus, the amended standard of proof in self
defense cases applies not only to future cases, but also to existing cases and
even those cases under appeal. The case
is Martin v. State, Case No. 2D16-4468, (Fla. Dist. Ct. App., 2nd
District, May 4, 2018), available at https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5709431534236501779&q=martin+v+state+&hl=en&as_sdt=4,10&as_ylo=2017.
The article
will be published in full on the Blog of Mr. Megaro, https://patrickmegaroblog.blogspot.com/
It will also be published in The Megaro Criminal Law Library at https://themegarocriminallawlibrary.com/
It will also be published in The Megaro Criminal Law Library at https://themegarocriminallawlibrary.com/
**** Patrick Michael Megaro is a partner at Halscott Megaro PA. His primary areas of practice are criminal defense, criminal appeals, post-conviction relief, civil appeals, and civil rights litigation. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patrickmichael.megaro.9 - Attorney Profile: https://criminal-defense-attorney.squarespace.com/patrick-michael-megaro-esq/ - Attorney Profile at: https://solomonlawguild.com/patrick-michael-megaro; Attorney News at: https://attorneygazette.com/patrick-megaro%2C-esq#ab17a387-a757-4c0f-bc37-81f556fd15ea
