776.013
(3) A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.
And then of course there is this law that Trayvon was also violating.
876.13 Wearing mask, hood, or other device on public property.—No person or persons shall in this state, while wearing any mask, hood, or device whereby any portion of the face is so hidden, concealed, or covered as to conceal the identity of the wearer, enter upon, or be, or appear upon or within the public property of any municipality or county of the state.
The Law is interpreted by jury instructions.
No duty to retreat. § 776.013(3), Fla. Stat. See Novak v. State 974 So. 2d 520 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008) regarding unlawful activity. There is no duty to retreat where the defendant was not engaged in any unlawful activity other than the crime(s) for which the defendant asserts the justification.
If the defendant [was not engaged in an unlawful activity and] was attacked in any place where [he] [she] had a right to be, [he] [she] had no duty to retreat and had the right to stand [his] [her] ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if [he] [she] reasonably believed that it was necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to [himself] [herself] [another] or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.
If Zim is found to have put Trayvon in fear of injury, then Zim had a duty to retreat.
Where is the proof that Trayvon was not afraid of Zim? Dee Dee? Witness 11?
1. At some point before exiting his SUV, Zim loaded his pistol with a hollow point bullet in the chamber, providing the pistol with point and shoot option, so a firm pull on the trigger would fire a bullet, and no other safety. This meant that Zim’s reason to fear Trayvon was limited.
2. Zim's prejudicial comments to the dispatcher,
3. After Zim had been following Trayvon for a while, Zim told the 911 dispatcher that Trayvon was staring at him, or a period of some time. Trayvon was inside the Gated community, and with a few hundred feet of the residence where he was staying. Then Trayvon started running away from Zim, maybe to see if Zim would follow him.
4. Zim getting out of his vehicle to follow Trayvon, after having followed Trayvon on the street in his car,
5. Zim causing Trayvon to be afraid, and run away from Zim,
6. Then Zim pursuing Trayvon to 100 feet of Trayvon's front door,
7. Then Zim refusing to answer Trayvon's legitimate question, "Why are you following me for?"
8. then Zim speaking in a belligerent attitude toward Trayvon, "What are YOU doing here?"
9. Then reaching in his pocket, apparently still with an aggressive, belligerent expression on his face, continuing from his tone of voice, when Zim was speaking belligerently.
10. Will the jury find Zim's claim that Zim behaved in a peaceable manner in his initial exchange of words with Trayvon, as indicating guilt, because Zim's claim is contradicted by at least two witnesses?
Florida Jury Instruction for Assault
To prove the crime of Assault, the State must prove the following three elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
1. (Defendant) intentionally and unlawfully threatened, either by word or act, to do violence to (victim).
2. At the time, (defendant) appeared to have the ability to carry out the threat.
3. The act of (defendant) created in the mind of (victim) a well-founded fear that the violence was about to take place.
Lesser Included Offenses
ASSAULT — 784.011
CATEGORY ONE CATEGORY TWO FLA. STAT. INS. NO.
None
Attempt 777.04(1) 5.1
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