Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 161
The primary Texas statutes dealing with self-defense and defense
of other people are contained in three Texas Penal Code Sections:
9.31: Self-Defense
9.32: Deadly Force In Defense of Person
9.33: Defense of Third Persons
The law of justified self-defense is split between justification for the
use of force in Section 9.31 and justification for the use of deadly
force in Section 9.32. Each of these sections also contain legal
presumptions of reasonableness that are available under certain
circumstances and are extremely powerful when deciding if a use of
force or deadly force was legally justified. Likewise, the language of
both sections contains Texas’s version of the “Castle Doctrine” and
“Stand Your Ground” laws, even though those specific terms are not
mentioned in the statutes. Section 9.33 combines force and deadly
force in providing justification for “Defense of Third Persons.”
In the previous Chapter, several legal concepts such as
reasonableness, immediate necessity, and the categorization of
force and deadly force were discussed. Those concepts have
practical applications in this Chapter. Here, we will expand upon
those topics to include when a person may be justified in using
force or deadly force in self-defense, as well as those circumstances
when the law specifically prohibits the use of force or deadly force.
II. DEFENDING PEOPLE WITH FORCE OR DEADLY FORCE
A. General self-defense justification: no presumption of
reasonableness
The primary self-defense statutes in Texas are Sections 9.31 and
9.32 of the Texas Penal Code. Section 9.31(a) lays out the legal
requirements for the justified use of force, but not deadly force,
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