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http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/InTheNews.aspx?ID=8489
http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/173243/
Arkansas Senator Files "Castle Doctrine" Bill
Sen. Jerry Taylor (D-Pine Bluff) has filed Senate Bill 2A that would remove a person’s duty to retreat under certain circumstances before using deadly force in self-defense. Taylor, a retired land surveyor and real estate broker, said about 15 states have adopted so-called "castle doctrine" laws.
Read about it here: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/173243/
http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/173243/
Senator files bill to loosen rules on use of deadly force
BY MICHAEL R. WICKLINE
Posted on Friday, November 17, 2006
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/173243/
A bill filed Thursday for the forthcoming state legislative session would remove a person’s duty to retreat under certain circumstances before using deadly force in self-defense.
These circumstances include those in which the person is in any place where he has a right to be. His use of deadly force is justified if he reasonably believes that the other person is committing or about to commit a felony involving force or violence, using or about to use unlawful deadly physical force or imminently endangering the person’s life.
Sen. Jerry Taylor, D-Pine Bluff, who filed Senate Bill 2, said he filed it early partly because he knows as a result of conversations he’s had with a few senators about it that it is going to be disputed.
“I wanted to get it out there so the citizens have a lot of time to talk to their legislators about it,” he said.
Taylor said he is sponsoring the legislation at the request of his constituents and not because of any organized groups. The legislation is patterned after a South Dakota law, he said.
“Right now, Arkansas law says you have a responsibility to re- treat [and ] I just don’t think it is appropriate,” Taylor said. “There are times that I don’t think you need to retreat when you are in a place where you have a right to be which is most public places.
“ I think it is a good idea, but we’ll see how it goes.”
Under current Arkansas law, “A person may not use deadly physical force in self defense if he or she knows that he or she can avoid the necessity of using deadly physical force with complete safety” by retreating or surrendering possession of property to a person claiming a lawful right to possession of the property.
But a person is not required to retreat under state law if the person is in his dwelling and was not the original aggressor, or the person is a law enforcement officer or a person assisting at the direction of a law enforcement officer.
Taylor, a retired land surveyor and real estate broker, said about 15 states have adopted so-called “castle doctrine” laws.
Sen. Jim Luker, D-Wynne, a lawyer, questioned the need for legislation like Taylor’s bill.
“We have a castle doctrine law. A man’s home is his castle and in his castle he does not have to retreat before you can use deadly force,” he said.
“I would like to see some examples where there would be a demonstrable need [for this bill ],” he said. “This is a longstanding tradition in the law. We don’t believe in standing out in the middle for the street and having a quick-draw contest anymore.”
Rep. Shirley Walters, RGreenwood, who is the lead House sponsor of the bill, said numerous constituents, not any organized groups, have asked her to pass this bill. She said Oklahoma has adopted similar legislation.
Some people are concerned that they might be prosecuted by overzealous prosecutors for protecting themselves, she said.
“This alleviates a lot of people’s concern [about prosecutors ] and they know they can stand their ground and protect themselves if someone else is using deadly force,” she said.
But Luker said, “Just to allay someone’s unwarranted fear is no justification for passing laws that are radical departures from what we lived under for hundreds of years.”
Larry Jegley, prosecuting attorney of Pulaski and Perry counties, said he hasn’t read the bill but is familiar with the castle-doctrine issue.
“We really have never had a problem in my 16 years as a prosecutor in sorting out the facts of cases involving justifiable use of deadly force in a dwelling or otherwise,” he said. “I don’t think any reasonable person would be arguing there is a problem with overzealous prosecutors in fairly and justly evaluating situations involving the justifiable use of physical force,” Jegley said. “I am not saying I am opposed to a bill like that, but I don’t think it is going to change much in the evaluation [that prosecutors do in deadly-force cases ].” A spokesman for the National Rifle Association, Autumn Fogg, said the group is supporting the bill.
Fifteen other states have passed some type of “castle doctrine” law during the past two years, she said. The states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and South Dakota.
“Castle doctrine laws state if you are attacked in a place that you have a legal right to be and your life is in danger you may stand your ground and protect yourself instead of having a legal responsibility to flee the violent criminal,” Fogg said.
Jeff Rosenzweig, an attorney in Little Rock, said the problem with the existing law is what happens if a person is on the porch or in his yard. “You get into some ambiguous situations,” he said.
He said he hopes the bill causes some debate to “clean up the retreat doctrine.”
