80R664 RMB-F
 
  By: Wentworth S.B. No. 378
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the use of force or deadly force in defense of a person.
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
       SECTION 1.  Section 9.01, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Subdivisions (4) and (5) to read as follows:
             (4)  "Habitation" has the meaning assigned by Section
30.01.
             (5)  "Vehicle" has the meaning assigned by Section
30.01.
       SECTION 2.  Section 9.31, Penal Code, is amended by amending
Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read as
follows:
       (a)  Except as provided in Subsection (b), a person is
justified in using force against another when and to the degree the
actor [he] reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary
to protect the actor [himself] against the other's use or attempted
use of unlawful force.  The actor's belief that the force was
immediately necessary as described by this subsection is presumed
to be reasonable if the actor knew or had reason to believe that the
person against whom the force was used:
             (1)  unlawfully entered, or was attempting to enter
unlawfully, the actor's habitation, vehicle, or place of business
or employment;
             (2)  unlawfully removed, or was attempting to remove
unlawfully, the actor from the actor's habitation, vehicle, or
place of business or employment; or
             (3)  was committing or attempting to commit aggravated
kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault,
robbery, or aggravated robbery.
       (e)  A person who has a right to be present at the location
where the force is used, who has not provoked the person against
whom the force is used, and who is not engaged in criminal activity
at the time the force is used is not required to retreat before
using force as described by this section.
       (f)  For purposes of Subsection (a), in determining whether
an actor described by Subsection (e) reasonably believed that the
use of force was necessary, a finder of fact may not consider
whether the actor failed to retreat.
       SECTION 3.  Section 9.32, Penal Code, is amended to read as
follows:
       Sec. 9.32.  DEADLY FORCE IN DEFENSE OF PERSON.  (a)  A person
is justified in using deadly force against another:
             (1)  if the actor [he] would be justified in using force
against the other under Section 9.31; and
             (2)  [if a reasonable person in the actor's situation
would not have retreated; and
             [(3)]  when and to the degree the actor [he] reasonably
believes the deadly force is immediately necessary:
                   (A)  to protect the actor [himself] against the
other's use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force; or
                   (B)  to prevent the other's imminent commission of
aggravated kidnapping, murder, sexual assault, aggravated sexual
assault, robbery, or aggravated robbery.
       (b)  The actor's belief under Subsection (a)(2) that the
deadly force was immediately necessary as described by that
subdivision is presumed to be reasonable if the actor knew or had
reason to believe that the person against whom the deadly force was
used:
             (1)  unlawfully entered, or was attempting to enter
unlawfully, the actor's habitation, vehicle, or place of business
or employment;
             (2)  unlawfully removed, or was attempting to remove
unlawfully, the actor from the actor's habitation, vehicle, or
place of business or employment of the actor; or
             (3)  was committing or attempting to commit an offense
described by Subsection (a)(2)(B) [The requirement imposed by
Subsection (a)(2) does not apply to an actor who uses force against
a person who is at the time of the use of force committing an offense
of unlawful entry in the habitation of the actor].
       (c)  A person who has a right to be present at the location
where the deadly force is used, who has not provoked the person
against whom the deadly force is used, and who is not engaged in
criminal activity at the time the deadly force is used is not
required to retreat before using deadly force as described by this
section.
       (d)  For purposes of Subsection (a)(2), in determining
whether an actor described by Subsection (c) reasonably believed
that the use of deadly force was necessary, a finder of fact may not
consider whether the actor failed to retreat.
       SECTION 4.  Section 83.001, Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, is amended to read as follows:
       Sec. 83.001.  AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE.  It is an affirmative
defense to a civil action for damages for personal injury or death
that the defendant, at the time the cause of action arose, was
justified in using force or deadly force under Subchapter C,
Chapter 9 [Section 9.32], Penal Code[, against a person who at the
time of the use of force was committing an offense of unlawful entry
in the habitation of the defendant].
       SECTION 5.  Chapter 83, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
amended by adding Section 83.002 to read as follows:
       Sec. 83.002.  COURT COSTS, ATTORNEY'S FEES, AND OTHER
EXPENSES.  A defendant who prevails in asserting the affirmative
defense described by Section 83.001 may recover from the plaintiff
all court costs, reasonable attorney's fees, earned income that was
lost as a result of the suit, and other reasonable expenses.
       SECTION 6.  (a)  Sections 9.31 and 9.32, Penal Code, as
amended by this Act, apply only to an offense committed on or after
the effective date of this Act.  An offense committed before the
effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect when the
offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for
this purpose.  For the purposes of this subsection, an offense is
committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of
the offense occurs before the effective date.
       (b)  Section 83.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as
amended by this Act, and Section 83.002, Civil Practice and
Remedies Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a cause of action
that accrues on or after the effective date of this Act.  An action
that accrued before the effective date of this Act is governed by
the law in effect at the time the action accrued, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
       SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.