Just fresh from the Fifth District Court of Appeals: Why Burden of Proof on Immunity from Prosecution hearings should be the responsibility of the Prosecutors? Because abuse of power.
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) – An appeals court Friday ruled that a woman should not face charges in the shooting of her husband because she was acting in self-defense under Florida’s “stand your ground” law.
A panel of the 5th District Court of Appeal overturned a Brevard County circuit judge’s ruling that Victoria Reid should stand trial for shooting her husband, James Wesley Reid, in the leg during a domestic dispute.
Victoria Reid was charged with aggravated battery with a firearm while inflicting great bodily harm but argued she should be shielded from prosecution because of the “stand your ground” law.
Source: Court Grants ‘Stand Your Ground’ In Domestic Case « CBS Miami
As with many of the gun and defensive laws we have in Florida, we are in a continuous state of fixing the damned things as if they were an old building full of gremlins. And the gremlins are identified as bad prosecutors and judges who just want to be dicks because they can. This case is a prime example: Husband is an abusive drunk who beats the wife, has threatened her with guns in the past and on the night in question, he makes a move as to reach for a gun in their home. She gets a gun of her own and shoots him in the leg. During the hearing even the husband (as prosecution’s witness) admits his actions could have been interpreted as going for a gun and that he also believed the shooting was accidental because the gun had no safety.
The only other piece of evidence is the transcription of the 911 call where the Petitioner said “My husband, he is injured. He threatened to shoot me and I shot him.” That was it, nothing else was presented by the prosecution and yet, the judge decided out of left field not to grant Immunity from Prosecution.
If you really want to get mad, go read the court’s opinion on why they reversed such stupid decision:
“We conclude that the trial court erred in denying Stand Your Ground immunity to Petitioner because no factual disputes were raised in this case. See Peterson v. State, 983 So. 2d 27, 29 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008) (“[W]hen immunity under this law is properly raised by a defendant, the trial court must decide the matter by confronting and weighing only factual disputes.”). Both parties testified that Petitioner was afraid that Reid was reaching for a firearm when she shot him. They also testified that Reid had committed acts of domestic violence against Petitioner while he was under the influence of alcohol and that he had resumed drinking shortly before the shooting. The statements made by Petitioner during the 911 call were consistent with the testimony presented at the hearing and indicated that she believed Reid was about to shoot her.”
And if your blood is not boiling yet at the disregard shown by the court and prosecution in this case, a reminder that aggravated battery with a firearm is a second degree felony (Florida Statutes 784.045 – 2) punishable with a term of 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine ( 775.082, s. 775.083).
We need to make our Legislators understand that there cannot be any wiggle room that Prosecutors or Judges can use in a law to screw with the Rights of defendants. We need to forget the concept that members of the Judiciary will not lower themselves to disrespect and abuse the Spirit of the Law with court room shenanigans. They are lawyers after all.
