What is Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law On Use or Threatened Use of Deadly Force?

May 19, 2025 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Criminal Defense, Violent Crimes Social Share

Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” (SYG) law is one of the state’s most well-known statutes, and is often invoked in cases where someone claims they were defending themselves with a firearm or other deadly weapon. This article will discuss Florida’s Stand Your Ground law under Section 776.212(2), Florida Statutes, the procedural aspects of bringing a Stand Your Ground claim, and the legal standard that must be met for such a claim to succeed.

Florida’s Stand Your Ground law is codified under Fla. Stat. Section 776.212(2). It allows a person to use or threaten to use deadly force if he or she “reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony.”

A Stand Your Ground claim can be asserted regardless of if the event that led to the use or threatened use of deadly force occurred within someone’s residence, a private establishment, or in a public place. This is because Florida’s Stand Your Ground law eliminates the “duty to retreat,” so long as the person bringing the claim is not engaged in criminal activity and is in a place that they have the right to be. Bouie v. State, 292 So.3d 471 (Fla 2d. DCA 2020).

Under Fla. Stat. Section 776.032, someone who successfully brings a Stand Your Ground claim receives criminal immunity from prosecution for the use or threatened use of deadly force. This immunity protects the claimant from arrest, detention, and prosecution, unless the alleged victim was a law enforcement officer acting in the performance of their official duties.

When someone asserts a Stand Your Ground claim in their defense, the first step in assessing its legal validity is an immunity hearing. An immunity hearing occurs before the trial, and is held for the purpose of determining whether a prima facie (on its face) Stand Your Ground claim exists. 

If someone charged with the unlawful use or threatened use of deadly force successfully establishes that they stood their ground during the immunity hearing, they are shielded from further prosecution on that charge under Florida Statutes Section 776.032(4). For a Stand Your Ground claim to succeed during a pretrial immunity hearing, the following must occur:

• The defendant must bring a prima facie case of self-defense or defense of others that supported the use or threatened use of deadly force 
• The defendant must establish the alleged victim was not a law enforcement officer engaged in the official performance of their duties 
• The defendant must establish they were not engaged in criminal activity and had a right to be where the use or threatened use of deadly force occurred

Once a defendant establishes all of the above facts, the burden of proof then shifts to the prosecution to provide clear and convincing evidence that the use or threatened use of deadly force was legally unjustified. If the prosecution fails to establish this, the case is dismissed before trial. Little v. State, 111 So.3d 214 (Fla. 2d. DCA 2013).

Note: When someone uses deadly force or threatens to use deadly force in the defense of others, the same presumption of reasonable fear of imminent peril or death applies to a defendant. Thus, the same standard applies for successfully proving a Stand Your Ground claim – both at a pretrial immunity hearing and trial (if one occurs). Derossett v. State, 311 So.3d 880 (Fla. 5th DCA 2019). 

If a pretrial immunity claim fails, a Stand Your Ground defense can normally still be used at trial. But the legal validity of the claim is now a question for the jury, rather than a judge. If a Stand Your Ground claim is asserted at trial, the jury must evaluate whether the defendant reasonably believed that their use or threatened use of deadly force was necessary to prevent:

• Imminent death or great bodily harm to themselves or another, or;
• The imminent commission of a forcible felony 

Importantly, the burden of proof at trial is on the prosecution if a Stand Your Ground defense is used. This means that the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant did not reasonably believe the use or threatened use of deadly force was justified. If the State fails to do so, the defendant must be acquitted under the law.

Note: Someone is said to have “reasonably believed” their use or threatened use of force was necessary if a “reasonable and prudent person situated in the same circumstances and knowing what the defendant knew would have used the same force as did the defendant.” Mobley v. State, 132 So. 3d 1160 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014).

Typically, even if the case against a defendant is not dismissed after the pretrial immunity hearing, they can still argue Stand Your Ground at trial. Jefferson v. State, 264 So. 3d 1019 (Fla. 2d DCA 2018). If the case proceeds to trial, the defendant is entitled to the presumption that they reasonably believed the force or threatened use of force was necessary. 

Under certain circumstances, someone may be barred from arguing a Stand Your Ground claim at trial. This includes when:

• The defendant had no right to be where the use or threatened use of deadly force occurred
• The force was used or threatened against a law enforcement officer acting within his official duties
• The defendant was engaged in criminal activity (the commission of a separate, forcible felony at the time bars a Stand Your Ground claim)
• A total lack of evidence of self-defense at trial. M.S. v. State, 88 So. 3d 238, 239 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011).

While engagement in criminal activity at the time the force was used often acts as a bar to raising a Stand Your Ground claim, a notable exception is if someone possesses an illegal firearm – but otherwise reasonably acts in self-defense and was not engaged in criminal activity. A Stand Your Ground claim can still proceed in such a case. 

Florida courts have found that the sole fact that a defendant possessed or carried a firearm illegally, does not prevent a Stand Your Ground that would otherwise be successful from being raised. Dorsey v. State, 74 So.3d 521 (Fla 4th DCA 2011); Hill v. State, 143 So.3d 981 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014)

In rare cases, a defendant will sometimes be barred from asserting a Stand Your Ground claim at trial, as the judge may find at the immunity hearing or during trial that there is so little evidence of a valid claim that the jury should not be instructed on a Stand Your Ground defense. 

A defendant is likely to have a significantly harder time establishing a self-defense claim if the trial court refuses to instruct the jury on the Stand Your Ground issue. A defendant is not entitled to special jury instructions on self-defense if their claim is otherwise incompatible with Florida law.

A case illustrating this is Hill v. State. There, Hill requested a special instruction be given of “imperfect self-defense” after he argued that he had an honest but unreasonable belief in the necessity to use deadly force. The Florida Supreme Court rejected this, finding that Florida does not recognize an “imperfect-self defense” doctrine. As a result, Hill was not entitled to a special jury instruction. 

In sum, Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law provides a robust legal framework for the justifiable use of deadly force in self-defense, granting immunity from prosecution and civil action under specific circumstances. If someone believes they can assert a Stand Your Ground claim, it is vital to seek out an experienced and aggressive defense attorney.

If someone is concerned about a case involving a Stand Your Ground defense or is seeking to argue Stand Your Ground, it is crucial to find experienced and aggressive legal representation as soon as possible. This vital decision could make the difference in whether or not a person is subject to a lengthy prison term and hefty fines.

Stand Your Ground Defense Lawyer 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 attorneys at Pumphrey Law have decades of experience fighting 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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