Court Rules Florida's New Stand-Your-Ground Law Is Unconstitutional

By Lindsay Gibbs, ThinkProgress

04 July 17

A major defeat for the NRA.

ast month, Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) signed a controversial update to the �Stand Your Ground� law, which put the full impetus on prosecutors to disprove a self-defense claim during a pre-trial hearing.

The updated legislation was supported and promoted by the National Rifle Association, who said that it was merely a clarification on the true intent of the �Stand Your Ground� law when it was enacted in 2005. Previously, it was up to defendants to prove that they used force in self defense.

But on Monday, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch ruled that the update was unconstitutional, because of the process used to update the law?�?it should have been done through the Supreme Court, not the legislature according to Florida�s constitution.

�As a matter of constitutional separation of powers, that procedure cannot be legislatively modified,� Hirsch wrote.

The �Stand Your Ground� law has been controversial since it was first passed. It was central to the jury�s not-guilty verdict in the case of George Zimmerman, a former neighborhood watchman who was acquitted of the murder of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager who Zimmerman shot and killed in 2012.

The ruling by Hirsch is considered a victory for prosecutors and gun control advocates, who believe that the updated law Scott signed last month forced prosecutors to essentially try the case twice, once at the pre-trial hearing and then again during the trial. The law requires prosecutors to prove that the defendant was not acting in self defense by showing �clear and convincing� evidence.

The ruling is based on two cases in Hirsch�s court?�?that of Liletha Rutherford, a woman who pulled a gun on a couple during an argument and is now accused of aggravated assault; and the case of Omar Rodriguez, who shot and killed a neighbor after an argument over dog poop.

Both trials will continue, but Rutherford and Rodriguez will have to prove that they used force in self defense.

Hirsch�s ruling is expected to be challenged in appellate courts and will likely head to the Florida Supreme Court.