Judge calls change in Florida Stand Your Ground law unconstitutional

MIAMI, Fla. — For years, people who claimed innocence under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law had to prove they felt threatened when they used, or threatened to use, deadly force.

The Florida Legislature enacted a law, though, that shifted the burden of proof to the state, requiring prosecutors prove the defendant did not feel threatened.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch ruled Monday that the state law was unconstitutional, writing, “As a matter of constitutional separation of powers … (the burden of proof) cannot be legislatively modified.”

The ruling only applies to the case in question, but could open the doors for challenges to be made in other courts and could eventually land the issue in front of the Florida Supreme Court.

The legislative change to the Stand Your Ground law, can be traced to a 2012 case in Kissimmee.

In that case, Indiana resident Jared Bretherick was accused of holding another driver at gunpoint until police arrived.

Bretherick claimed he felt threatened and argued he should not have to prove the claim.

The Florida Legislature agreed and changed the law this year.

Florida Speaker of the House Richard Corcoran responded to Hirsch’s ruling in a trio of Twitter posts Monday.

“The Florida House will continue to stand with ordinary citizens who exercise their right to self-defense … We look forward to this decision being reversed on appeal,” he wrote in the posts.

Cox Media Group