Is Stand Your Ground a Defense in a Florida Aggravated Assault Case?

August 28, 2025 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Violent Crimes Social Share

In Florida, being charged with aggravated assault (Fla. Stat. 784.021) is very serious. Aggravated assault can occur in one of two ways – with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, or with an intent to commit a separate felony. It is a third-degree felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Aggravated assault is enhanceable to a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if either of the following are true:

• The aggravated assault occurred in furtherance of a riot or aggravated riot
• The victim of the aggravated assault was in a protected group under Fla. Stat. 784.07 (police, firefighters, hospital personnel on the job, etc.)

A common question if someone is charged with aggravated assault is whether a Stand Your Ground defense can be used. Under Florida law, someone may use or threaten to use reasonable and proportionate force to defend themselves or others from a threat of death or great bodily harm (Fla. Stat. 776.012 and 776.032).

Though Stand Your Ground is often thought of as a go-to defense in cases involving actual physical contact (battery, aggravated battery, or even murder charges), a Stand Your Ground defense may also be able to successfully defeat an aggravated assault charge. However, this is largely dependent on the facts of a given case.

This blog will discuss the elements of aggravated assault in Florida and the potential use of the Stand Your Ground defense in fighting aggravated assault charges.

For the offense of aggravated assault to be committed in Florida, the State must prove all of the following beyond a reasonable doubt:

• The defendant intentionally and unlawfully threatened to do imminent violence to a victim
• The defendant had the apparent ability to carry out the threat at the time it was made
• The threat was of such a nature that it would cause a reasonable person to be put in well-founded fear that violence was about to occur
• The threat involved the use of a deadly weapon or the defendant made the threat with the intent to commit a separate felony

Two things are important to note about aggravated assault charges. First, Florida’s courts use an objective test to determine whether the threat was of a nature to create a well-founded fear of imminent violence. This means that even if an alleged victim in a given case was not personally in fear, someone may still be convicted if fear would have been reasonable (such as pulling a gun on someone). Daniels v. State, 308 So. 3d 212 (Fla. 1st DCA 2020).

The next thing to understand is that a “deadly weapon” for aggravated assault purposes is a broad definition. Courts have found deadly weapons to extend beyond firearms and knives. A deadly weapon is any instrument used or threatened to be used in a manner likely to cause death or great bodily harm. These may include (Cloninger v. State, 846 So.2d 1192 (Fla 4th DCA 2003)):

• Bats and canes
• Dirks and swords
• Rocks 
• Canes
• BB/pellet guns
• Broken beer bottles
• Sticks 

Aggravated assault is often confused with battery or aggravated battery, but aggravated assault does not involve physical contact.

Examples of aggravated assault in Florida may include any of the following:

• J pulls a gun on T during a heated argument and threatens to shoot him, but does not actually want to kill him (aggravated assault with a deadly weapon)
• K threatens P, a child, that he will kill him if he doesn’t get in the back of his fan (aggravated assault with intent to commit a separate felony, kidnapping)
• A breaks his beer bottle during a bar argument and begins to swing it wildly at B (broken beer bottle is considered a deadly weapon)

Given the serious penalties aggravated assault carries (a felony), it is commonly asked whether Stand Your Ground can be used as a defense. The answer is yes, especially in cases involving aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. 

If someone wishes to invoke the Stand Your Ground defense in response to an aggravated assault case, the first step is filing a pretrial motion to dismiss, which triggers an immunity hearing. At that immunity hearing, someone charged with aggravated assault can present their argument that the force they used was reasonable and proportionate given the circumstances.

At the immunity hearing, the burden of proof functions in the following way:

• First: The defense must make a prima facie (on its face) showing of self-defense or defense of others. The defense must allege specific facts indicating that the defendant acted reasonably and lawfully in self-defense or defense of others.
• Then: If a prima facie showing of self-defense is made, the State must then rebut the defendant’s claim by clear and convincing evidence for the prosecution to continue. If the State fails, the case is dismissed before trial, as the defendant is immune from prosecution under Stand Your Ground. State v. Gallo, 76 So. 3d 407 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011)

In evaluating a Stand Your Ground claim, the court’s job is “to determine whether, based on circumstances as they appeared to the defendant when he or she acted, a reasonable and prudent person situated in the same circumstances and knowing what the defendant knew would have used the same force [or threat of force] as did the defendant.” Chaffin v. State, 121 So. 3d 608 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013); Toledo v. State, 452 So. 2d 661, 663 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)

Under Fla. Stat. 776.041, the defendant must not have provoked the confrontation or be actively committing a forcible felony. If either occurs, Stand Your Ground is waived as a defense. In very rare cases, someone who initiated a confrontation may still be able to claim self-defense, but only if every other option (fleeing, etc.) was exhausted and death or great bodily harm was imminent.

Some hypothetical examples of when a Stand Your Ground defense may be effective in defeating an aggravated assault charge include:

• M sees an unknown man in his front yard at night shouting death threats and reaching into his waistband. M comes outside and flashes his gun at the man to get him to leave. M is charged with aggravated assault. Stand Your Ground could work here as M had no duty to retreat, a lawful right to be at home, and his threatened use of force was proportionate to the threat. Little v. State, 111 So. 3d 214 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013) 
• During a road rage incident, K exits his vehicle with a crowbar and threatens to “bash the skull in” of L, another driver. As K approaches the car, L flashes a lawfully-possessed pistol to get K to stop advancing. L is charged with aggravated assault, but could use Stand Your Ground to argue that the threatened use of force was lawful and proportionate given the circumstances.
• B is attempting to rape A. G sees this and screams at B that he will kill him if advances any further towards A, allowing A to run away. Police arrive and arrest G for aggravated assault with intent to commit felony false imprisonment of B. G has a strong Stand Your Ground claim, as he was reasonably defending A given the circumstances.

In addition to a Stand Your Ground claim, other defenses to aggravated assault (with a deadly weapon or with intent to commit a separate felony) may include:

• Lack of intent to threaten
• No apparent ability to carry out the threat
• No threat of imminent violence (e.g. victim is 1,000 miles away)
• Lack of evidence
• Mistaken identity/alibi
• Procedural challenges (such as moving to suppress evidence)
• Arguing simple assault rather than aggravated assault (reducing the severity of the charges)

So, can a Stand Your Ground claim work as a defense to aggravated assault? The answer is yes, because Florida law allows the use or threatened use of deadly force in self-defense or to defend others. Critically, this must be reasonable and proportionate to the threat faced. 

Courts look at whether a reasonable person knowing what the defendant knew at the time would have used such force in evaluating a Stand Your Ground claim in Florida. During a pretrial immunity hearing, the defendant must first make a prima facie (on its face) showing that the force was reasonable. The State must then rebut this by clear and convincing evidence. Peterson v. State, 983 So. 2d 27, 29 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008).

It is important to remember that even if a defendant loses a Stand Your Ground pretrial immunity hearing, this does not mean they cannot argue self-defense or defense of others at trial. The State must still prove that an aggravated assault was a legally unjustifiable threatened use of force beyond a reasonable doubt for a defendant to be convicted.

Aggravated assault is a very serious charge in Florida that can carry lengthy prison sentences and heavy financial penalties. If someone is formally charged and wishes to assert a Stand Your Ground defense, it is vital to find experienced and aggressive legal representation as soon as possible. 

Criminal Defense Attorney in Tallahassee, FL

Don Pumphrey, Jr. is a Former Prosecutor, Former State Police Officer, Lifetime Member of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; for over 25 years as a private defense attorney who is Trusted, Experienced, Aggressive in Criminal Defense as a Trial Attorney, Criminal Lawyer, Criminal Defense Lawyer for the accused in Florida State Courts located in Tallahassee, Florida but handling cases throughout the State of Florida.

Don Pumphrey, Jr. and the Tallahassee criminal defense lawyers at Pumphrey Law have decades of experience fighting drug charges on behalf of clients and winning. Call Pumphrey Law now at (850) 681-7777 to learn more about what we can do for you. Our lawyers will be happy to provide you with a free consultation.

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