Most self-defense cases turn on whether a jury thinks your fear was reasonable. In three places — your home, your vehicle, and your workplace — Texas law answers that question for you. Brian Foley explains in this video.
The presumption
Penal Code § 9.32(b) provides that your belief that deadly force was immediately necessary is presumed reasonable if you knew or had reason to believe the person against whom you used it:
- Was unlawfully and with force entering, or attempting to enter, your occupied habitation, vehicle, or place of business or employment;
- Was unlawfully and with force removing, or attempting to remove, you from any of those places; or
- Was committing or attempting to commit aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery.
The three conditions
The presumption applies only if you (a) did not provoke the person, (b) were not otherwise engaged in criminal activity beyond a Class C traffic offense at the time, and (c) — under the companion provision in § 9.31 — the entry or removal was "unlawful and with force." A guest who refuses to leave is not forcibly entering; a person kicking in the door is.
What "presumed" means at trial
Under Penal Code § 2.05, when the facts giving rise to the presumption are proven, the jury must find the presumed fact — reasonableness — unless the State disproves it beyond a reasonable doubt. Practically, the burden shifts almost entirely to the State, and grand juries frequently no-bill these cases without a trial.
The vehicle
The presumption's inclusion of vehicles is why carjacking and road-rage cases in Harris County are so often resolved in the defender's favor — and why the facts of who reached into whose car matter so much.
After a home or vehicle shooting
Call 911. Say you were attacked and you need police and an ambulance. When officers arrive, identify yourself, say you were defending yourself, and say you want a lawyer before giving a statement. Then stop. Read more on our Castle Doctrine page, or call or text (713) 703-1718 — former prosecutors Brian Foley and Luis Baez handle these cases from the first hour.