[Florida8654]

How do I find the legal definition of "battery" in Florida law? Is there allowance for defending yourself?

I recently restrained someone who I believed was about to attack me. I held the person against a countertop by their shirt for a moment until I figured out what to do, about five to ten seconds, then released him, moved away and called the police. No blows were thrown as his arms were pinned underneath him.

I was charged with battery and will go before a judge. I was not taken to jail, I was given a notice to appear. I cannot afford a lawyer. The police officer took photos of the person to prove there were no injuries and told me it would likely be thrown out. The man is claiming I beat him up and lied to the police officers. The police report of the incident states that he appears fine and that there are no bruises or marks, torn clothing etc.

Any advice on areas to research, ways to defend myself effectively in court etc. would be a huge help.

I have never been in any trouble and have no criminal record.

Thank you

[BOR]

FL statutes:

Battery:

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/...n%2003#0784.03


Self defense:

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/...20012#0776.012

Restraining someone of thier liberty in even a peaceful manner is permitted as a form of self defense.

It appears the charging authority has NOT put any credence in your self defense theory, therefore you must convince a trier of fact, whether it be Judge or Jury, otherwise.

If you wish to be "in the know" on the case law, visit a library where they have the state code, after each section I cite here, there will be case law/annotations, some may beneficial in helping you. Keep in mind simply because a citation appears, it may be old law, maybe not.

If you can not afford an attorney, one will be appointed by the court to defend you.

Not quoting FL law now, since I do not know, but under the federal constitution, IF a state does NOT appoint a public defender for you, and you are indigent, they can NOT sentence you to any jail time if convicted.

[Florida8654]

Thank you for your help.

Am I correct that the burden of proof is on the prosecution? I am trying to learn if I am required by law to testify or comment in any way or if he has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that I committed battery.

Your link to the definition states that touching someone is battery, so I feel I would need to explain my reason why. I am also worried that exercising my right to remain silent would be seen as guilty behavior.

Thanks

[aaron]

The prosecutor has the burden of proof that the offense occurred. Self-defense is an affirmative defense, meaning you have the burden of proving that the defense applies. If you meet that threshold, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you did not act in self-defense. See, e.g., Brown v. State, 454 So. 2d 596, 598 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984).

[Florida8654]

My court date is on Monday. I have researched the information that has been posted. Thank you.

The incident that lead up to the battery charge was that my wife and I were walking on the side of the road, no sidewalk, on a narrow secondary road with our infant son in a stroller. This road is the only way in and out of our current residence and place of employment. A vehicle approached us at a high rate of speed and showed no signs of slowing. There was traffic passing in the opposite direction and there was very little room. The vehicle continued speeding (speed limit 25 mph) I estimate his speed at forty five to fifty miles an hour. I already had my son and wife pushed into the grass on the edge of the road and yelled "slow down" as the vehicle passed at speed very close to us. The drivers response was to curse us as he passed. He yelled "F you". The vehicle continued on.

My wife and I continued home without incident. I asked a friend to call a buddy of his who is a police officer. The officer stated that if the incident wasn't witnessed by an officer there was nothing we could do. Being that we have no vehicle, walk on this road daily and my wife often walks alone with our son while I work, I felt this represented an ongoing risk to my family. There are only a few establishments on this dead end road and knew it was probable the driver of the vehicle would return. After researching the vehicle and driver description with fellow employees I learned that the man worked next door.

After carefully considering my options, about three hours had passed at this point, I decided to go and talk to this man and find out what we were dealing with, I.E. bad day, drugs, and express my concerns. I fully expected him to say he was just having a bad day and say he was sorry and that would be it. From the moment I entered the room, (we were alone) it was obvious that irrational behavior was the norm for this individual. I have never encountered such complete and utter disrespect for others and their safety. He continued verbally attacking me and cursing etc. to the point where I felt it was going to get physical. At this point I grabbed his shirt and held him against a counter as previously described. I told him I was calling the police and to stay away from my family. I let go, left the building, called police and waited outside for them to arrive. I very strongly believe the amount of force used was the absolute bare minimum to protect myself and my family. The man was not injured in any way.

The rest is described in previous posts.

My questions are:

Does his irrational behavior, proximity to my residence and work place and the limited access to the area legally constitue a continued threat to my family? I know how we feel and what we felt at the time, but I am ignorant of what represents a continued threat legally.

Does the fact that I explored a lawful solution prior to this confrontation help me in any legal way? I read somewhere that you are allowed to defend yourself only if there is not a law that will serve in the same manner.

Is a vehicle, and his driving behavior considered a deadly weapon?

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciatted.
Thank you

[aardvarc]

From the prosecution perspective:

You have a speeder who frequents a road often used by your family. Rather than contacting your local police, reporting the problem, requesting additional enforcement efforts etc., you took it upon yourself to locate and confront this individual. When the conversation turned heated, you physically restrained him. It would seem easy for them to paint this as delayed case of road rage, if they decided to pursue the case.

As far as the battery, your defense attorney will have his work cut out for him in portraying the circumstances where you physically controlled and restrained another who at that point by your own admission was only in a verbal confrontation with you. Expect the prosecution to ask why you didn't just walk away at that point, and then expect them to follow up by reitterating that the purpose of the visit was confrontational in nature. Typically self defense requires that any force only be met with an amount of force needed to stop the perceived threat, and at the point where you put your hands on him, the threshold of whether you were justified in resorting to physical action is very sketchy at best.

Yes, his speeding is not only a danger to you and your family, but to anyone and everyone else in the area - yet this doesn't set the legal stage to cast yourself as a law enforcer.

Your best advice is to immediately retain a good criminal defense attorney - be open and candid about the events, listen carefully to what they say, and follow any instructions to the letter. You will likely have to take the stand since the actions in question aren't the issue - both sides appear to concede the order and events, so the issue is really only your perception of "imminent danger requiring self defense" and only you can communicate those thoughts and feelings.

[Florida8654]

Thank you for your detailed response. It is very helpful.