Gun-control advocates, including the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, have criticized the Stand Your Ground laws that have been passed in many states. These laws expanded the definition of justifiable self-defense and provide that anyone claiming to feel threatened no longer has an obligation to retreat or avoid use of deadly force. Assume you are defending a woman accused of shooting a

Question

young girl who knocked on her front door late at night. Your client had heard about break-ins in the local area over the television news and thought she was about to be robbed. The girl at the door was actually looking for help because her car had become stuck in a snowbank at the foot of your client's driveway. Based on these facts and any reasonable fact you can add to the scenario, how would you convince a jury that your client should not be convicted of shooting the young girl? Assume you are successful in your argument and it appears that you have convinced a jury your client was in fear.

If the fear needs to be a reasonable one, how would the prosecutor counter your argument most effectively?

Answer 1

The student needs to establish that the client felt danger, which should not be too difficult. However, the other side of the argument—reasonableness—might be easy for the prosecutor to use. Is it reasonable that a simple knock on the front door would place a reasonable person in fear that they were going to face a burglary? The student may debate the creation of Stand Your Ground laws, Castle Laws, etc. in the answer.