Castle Doctrine

[F8L_Funnel]

Stick the old double barrel out the front door and fire off two shots in the air

fire 2 shots in the air and when those slugs/buckshot come down, and they will - law of physics and gravity and stuff, god forbid it hits someone not invading your castle - you are on the hook for assault with a deadly weapon or worse if the person dies.

 

[swinokur]

But Joe Biden says it's ok. Ask him to represent you in your criminal trial. Maybe pro bono.

 

[Victory or Death]

All of this talk when all you guys have to do is put a "ROBBERY FREE ZONE" sign up.....

 

[pwoolford]

All of this talk when all you guys have to do is put a "ROBBERY FREE ZONE" sign up.....

That along with "NO WEAPONS PERMITTED ON THIS PROPERTY" and you should sleep great at night!

 

[Victory or Death]

That along with "NO WEAPONS PERMITTED ON THIS PROPERTY" and you should sleep great at night!

laugh about it all you want but since i put that sign up last month i was robbed only twice.... its for the kids you know!

 

[BondJamesBond]

I tried to search an updated thread but to no avail.

SO have at it!

Can I shoot somebody if they have entered my home illegally with or without a weapon?

It all depends on which judge and jury hears your case.

 

[jkeiler]

While Maryland technically retains the "castle doctirne" you can almost certainly count on being prosecuted, particularly in the DC area. Even winning the case after a long an costly prosecution my not be worth it. Consider the Trayvon Martin case. Obviously, if you really have no choice but to use deadly force, you have to do what you have to do, but you will also be relentlessly second guessed.

For a general take on some of these issues nationally, and use of force by civilians in general, some might be interested in this article:

http://www.thecounterterroristmag.com/pdf/Keiler.Citizens.Issue5.lores.pdf

 

[Bang]

Maybe I'm wrong:

http://mlis.state.md.us/asp/statutes_respond.asp?article=gcj&section=5-808&Extension=HTML


I'd still like to hear an attorney chime in. To this layman the way I read b.1 means that someone, a jury of peers, still has to determine if what the home owner did was reasonable.

I'm not trying to be an ass but would like clarification as well.

What I have read out of that the key word is May award fees, it's not a automatic thing.

I'm in the do what you have to to stop the threat, let the lawyers sort out the legal stuff camp.

But to be honest, if you have to discharge your weapon to defend yourself or your family you will never come out ahead. Between the mental toll of doing it and the stress of all the legal crap after. Plus the financial toll of clean up, damages to neighbors property if any, and the outlay of funds for legal services. It's something I hope to never have to do, but I am prepared to do so if required.

In summary if you have to pull a trigger, you're screwed, but you're still alive.

 

[dfens42]

The way I always read the MD statute and case law was that you cannot use force to defend property, it must be an imminent danger to you/your family.

 

[kcd]

Couple of months ago, there was a story in the news about a drunken teen neighbor entering a wrong house in Sterling, VA. and getting killed by the homeowner. It appeared that the drunken teen was dropped off at the wrong address after a night out with friends. Breaking and entering is not a capital offense but it may well be that he lost his life just for that. I was under the impression that the homeowner was not charged for the killing.

 

[highfructosecornsyrup]

http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/episode-1094-massad-ayoob-on-lethal-force-aftermath

Massad Ayoob makes some good points here. Things that if you are armed in your house you should hear what he has to say because when you start out as the victim and that guys is laying there dead or half dead when law arrives, who looks like the victim? When paramedics move shell casings to give immediate attention and it looks like you went closer to finish him off.

Seriously, listen to it 5 times....


Ill add the show notes
Join Us Today As We Discuss…

What is the biggest thing most armed citizens fail to plan for
What happens in most cases immediately after a “justified shooting”
What plans should you have in place in case you ever have to use deadly force
How does a deadly force incident differ when it is in your home vs. away
What about the castle doctrine, how much protection does it really provide
Can a shooting legally justified in one state and not another with the same facts
What is the absolute worst thing you can do after a shooting
When the police arrive how should you greet them
Is there anything you should never say or do in from of first responders to an incident
Defense of life vs. defense of property
Can the appearance of a weapon influence the outcome of a trial
How can ammo selection be used against you

 

[frogman68]

Couple of months ago, there was a story in the news about a drunken teen neighbor entering a wrong house in Sterling, VA. and getting killed by the homeowner. It appeared that the drunken teen was dropped off at the wrong address after a night out with friends. Breaking and entering is not a capital offense but it may well be that he lost his life just for that. I was under the impression that the homeowner was not charged for the killing.

that story seemed fishy to me from the start, one of the to houses didnt have a fence he entered from the rear. Never been that drunk that I wouldn't forget if I had to climb a fence . The alarm was blaring me I would stop if the alarm is going off in my "house" if my house didnt have one.

They said he was a good kid I don't know but he snuck out and got drunk. I give the parents props for publicly coming out and saying the homeowner dd nothing wrong

 

[L0gic]

But Joe Biden says it's ok. Ask him to represent you in your criminal trial. Maybe pro bozo.

FIFY

that story seemed fishy to me from the start, one of the to houses didnt have a fence he entered from the rear. Never been that drunk that I wouldn't forget if I had to climb a fence . The alarm was blaring me I would stop if the alarm is going off in my "house" if my house didnt have one.

They said he was a good kid I don't know but he snuck out and got drunk. I give the parents props for publicly coming out and saying the homeowner dd nothing wrong

Kid was drunk and pried open a window thinking he was sneaking back in to his own house. Open window triggered the house alarm and the off-duty firefighter responded with lethal force.

If he knew it was a drunk kid, he would have got a stern talking to, but in the middle of the night, who can blame the fire fighter. I'm sure he has been punishing himself more than any court judgment could.

 

[rh92]

Apparently from what I read, the homeowner who shot the kid fired off a warning shot and gave him a chance to flee. The kid instead moved towards him (thanks to his drunken state) and his life ended there.

 

[frogman68]

FIFY



Kid was drunk and pried open a window thinking he was sneaking back in to his own house. Open window triggered the house alarm and the off-duty firefighter responded with lethal force.

If he knew it was a drunk kid, he would have got a stern talking to, but in the middle of the night, who can blame the fire fighter. I'm sure he has been punishing himself more than any court judgment could.

Yes but before he got to the window it should of dawned on him when he reached/ didn't reach a fence that one of these house had

 

[kcd]

Apparently from what I read, the homeowner who shot the kid fired off a warning shot and gave him a chance to flee. The kid instead moved towards him (thanks to his drunken state) and his life ended there.

I didn't read that. If that's what happened, I think the police did the right thing by not charging the homeowner. But if you think about it, it would be the good homeowner's word that he moved toward him and nothing to refute what he said. (I would think that the homeowner didn't have to prove that the teen moved toward him after he fired the warning shot.) It's tough -- the teen could have been just going through a phase of growing pains.