The Castle Doctrine Will Protect Me!

The bottom line is that there are no "get out of jail free" cards. Every "Castle Doctrine", every "Stand Your Ground" and every "Civil Immunity" law will have an assortment of conditions that need to have been satisfied in order to come under the protection of the particular law.

So if in your particular case, if you should ever be so unlucky as to have one, there's any disagreement about whether or not you satisfied one or more of those conditions, you'll be in court so the judge and jury can decide.
 
Sorry carguychris, I somehow missed your reply earlier:

...to prevent the other who is fleeing immediately after committing burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or theft during the nighttime from escaping with the property...
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IMHO according to the way I read it, TX law only allows the use of deadly force against a fleeing thief if it is nighttime and a laundry list of other conditions are satisfied.
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No, it is describing a separate crime "theft during nighttime." Normally, theft of property wouldn't warrant the use of deadly force; but for some reason, Texas makes an exception if the theft occurs at nighttime.

If someone commits burglarly, robbery or aggravated robbery during the day and is fleeing immediately after the crime AND still has the property AND the situation meets the other criteria in the statute. then you can use deadly force, even though it is not nighttime.
 
In Texas, it very much depends on the local District Attorney's attitude and how your statement is written. If the Homicide detectives word your statement correctly, then you are likely to be referred to the Grand Jury without charges. If they word it another way, then prepare for trouble. So, read it carefully. Also, in Dallas County and Travis County, the District Attorneys are pretty much opposed to civilians using firearms, even to protect their own life, so, if there is a technicality that they can use to pop you for Manslaughter or something like that, you may be toast. Never say, "I didn't mean to shoot him." If you do, then you just admitted to committing Manslaughter. That's one example. "I was in fear for my life and had no choice", is much better.

By the way, in some counties, if you shoot a bad guy who broke into your house, the LEO's who investigate will critique your group of hits and tell you if you need more practice time on the range. So, it just depends on the attitudes of the LEO's and District Attorney in your county. The first CHL holder to defend himself in Texas was in Dallas, and the DA tried to charge him. The Grand Jury brought in a NO Bill after he had spent about $30,000 on lawyer fees.
 
In Texas, it very much depends on the local District Attorney's attitude and how your statement is written. If the Homicide detectives word your statement correctly, then you are likely to be referred to the Grand Jury without charges. If they word it another way, then prepare for trouble. So, read it carefully. Also, in Dallas County and Travis County, the District Attorneys are pretty much opposed to civilians using firearms, even to protect their own life, so, if there is a technicality that they can use to pop you for Manslaughter or something like that, you may be toast. Never say, "I didn't mean to shoot him." If you do, then you just admitted to committing Manslaughter. That's one example. "I was in fear for my life and had no choice", is much better.

By the way, in some counties, if you shoot a bad guy who broke into your house, the LEO's who investigate will critique your group of hits and tell you if you need more practice time on the range. So, it just depends on the attitudes of the LEO's and District Attorney in your county. The first CHL holder to defend himself in Texas was in Dallas, and the DA tried to charge him. The Grand Jury brought in a NO Bill after he had spent about $30,000 on lawyer fees.
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I would be VERY careful not confuse the LEO as your friend in this situation. Get a lawyer right from the start. The wording of your statement is up to you and your lawyer, not the investigating LEO. $30,000 is a small price for keeping your freedom, in fact, our CCW instructor told us to expect a much higher bill not only for the criminal prosecution, but the civil case that WILL follow no matter the outcome of any criminal indictment or not.

The same instructor was involved in a case of shooting a dog that attacked a man on his own property and the legal fees for that case were $238,000 for a DOG attack. And that was the man that was attacked, not the owner of the dog that was shot because of the attack.

Get the lawyer before you make any statement to the LEO whatsoever. If they cuff you and take you downtown, so be. WAIT for your lawyer, period. Once you have made a statement, it will remain forever and you will not be able to retract that statement later.
 
this case isn't castle doctrine, but the strength of the castle doctrine law is such that the defense is trying to force the issue and they might actually get away with it
 
shut and lawyer up

Shut up and lawyer up is the best advice that you can get following any incident.

A police officer who is involved in a shooting is not, in most jurisdictions, interviewed or required to make a statement for between 24 and 48 hours. My department allways, immediately, read the officer his rights and we did not "talk" to him about the incident until after he had time to decompress and consult his attorney.

Citzens should not talk to police without benefit of counsel. Any imediate statements made should, include name, contact information and a respectful refusal to say anything else.

Police will con you, they will misrepresent your statements and lie with with impunity in their reports and testimony.

Silence and a lawyer are your best options after a firearms incident.
 
HoraceHogsnort said:
Shut up and lawyer up....
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A widely held view, but not necessarily the best idea in a self defense incident.

[1] Call 911. Be the first to report the incident and do so immediately. If you don't report it, or if there's a long delay, you will appear to have a guilty conscience.

[2] While one has a right to remain silent, clamming up is what the bad guys do. Following a self defense incident, you'll want to act like one of the good guys. You also won't want the investigating officers to miss any evidence or possible witnesses. What if the responding officers miss your assailant's knife that you saw fall down the storm drain? What if they don't know about the guy you saw pick up your assailant's gun and walk off with it?

[3] At the same time, you don't want to say too much. You will most likely be rattled. You will also most likely be suffering from various well known stress induced distortions of perception.

[4] So ---

  • Say something like, "That person (or those people) attacked me." You are thus immediately identifying yourself as the victim. It also helps get the investigation off on the right track.
  • Say something like, "I will sign a complaint." You are thus immediately identifying the other guys(s) as the criminal(s).
  • Point out possible evidence, especially evidence that may not be immediate apparent. You don't want any such evidence to be missed.
  • Point out possible witnesses.
  • Then say something like, "I'm not going to say anything more right now. You'll have my full cooperation in 24 hours, after I've talked with my lawyer."
 
I hear you fiddletown and can't argue with that advice, but it is a tightrope and you ARE playing with fire. If you are worked up or start talking you need to be able to shut up quick! I have to agree with ltc444. The officer is going to go off on a tangent(very quickly) and start asking questions(depending on the personality will decide how long he/she decides to just listen to you&he is human and might remember/write differently in his report).

You can also self-fulfill a prophecy if you worry about what they are going to think, as their first impression might not line up to your hopes and/or it very possibly will be taken with a grain of salt no matter what. There is a saying by officers(mainly the detectives and maybe its not a saying): "Get a statement". They don't care if the statement is: "I didn't do it." and then you ask for a lawyer. They want a statement of any kind to get the ball rolling, to know somwhat more where you stand, etc. If you follow ltc's advice and just explain your reasoning and that its neutral you should be ok.

However, I can definately see certain situations where a brief statement might be a good idea, but heck there are good instances where you can allow a cop to search your vehicle(different example) but it still might just be better to matter of factly state: "I don't and can't consent to any searches but you will if think you should I guess." Because you know that might be one of his first questions in this scenario anyways, so why not just 'shut the well' off right from the start because you're playing w/fire?

I have even heard some people say that after dialing 911 with the phone its better to hang up(not hang up but give address+brief explanation and say you cant talk) because would've you remember differently than the recorded message or if that gets you in hot water somehow. some lawyers will try anything. I don't know enough about the last part not even close&am not saying this myself, but I do know landline 911 asap is crucial. if you wait a sec you just might not even have time to ever get back to it depending on the situation and thats unacceptable in a family safety situation and that should be the first concern. its a beacon not a phone convo at least in my book
 
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