Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 181
3. What is a vehicle under the “Castle Doctrine”?
Texas “Castle Doctrine” legal presumptions and protections are
applicable to occupied vehicles. If a person is attempting to “car-jack”
you, which is to unlawfully and with force enter your vehicle while you
are in it, or unlawfully and with force remove you from your vehicle,
your actions will fall under the “Castle Doctrine.” What does Texas
define as a vehicle? Under Texas Penal Code Section 30.01, a vehicle
is defined as:
Any device, in, on, or by which any person or property is or may be
propelled, moved, or drawn in the normal course of commerce or
transportation.
This is a very broad definition and appears to include anything that
carries people or property from one place to another, including cars,
trucks, boats, airplanes, golf carts, and so forth.
4. In Texas, “Stand Your Ground” means no duty to retreat
“Stand Your Ground” is a common term for laws that provide that a
person has no legal duty to retreat before using force or deadly force
against a person that is a threat. The words “Stand Your Ground” are not
used in the Texas Penal Code but do appear in Texas case law. Prior to
the amendments passed by the Texas Legislature in 2007, Texas Penal
Code Section 9.32 imposed a requirement that deadly force could only
be used when “a reasonable person in the actor’s situation would not
have retreated.” The 2007 amendments to the self-defense statutes added
provisions that allow a person under certain listed circumstances to “Stand
Their Ground” while defending himself or herself, and eliminated any
legal duty to retreat. However, for circumstances that are not covered
by the provisions of Sections 9.31 and 9.32, “the failure to retreat may
be considered in determining whether a defendant reasonably believed
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