Florida Stand Your Ground Law: Can You Use Deadly Force to Protect Yourself in Jacksonville, Florida?

Florida Statute Section 776.013 is also know as the Florida Stand Your Ground Law or the Florida Castle Doctrine. According to this Florida self-defense law:

“A person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another when using defensive force that is intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another if:

(a) the person against whom the defensive force was used was in the process of unlawfully and forcefully entering, or had unlawfully and forcibly entered, a dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle, or if that person had removed or was attempting to remove another against that person’s will from the dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle; and (b) the person who uses defensive force knew or had reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry or unlawful and forcible act was occurring or had occurred.”

There are exceptions to the Florida self-defense law (See Exceptions to the Florida Castle Doctrine in Jacksonville, Florida). Also, a person does not have a duty to retreat, as long as he or she is acting lawfully (See Is there a Duty to Retreat When Being Attacked in Jacksonville, Florida?).