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My AccountChapter 9
- 9.1 Necessity Generally—Need to “Admit” Offense
- 9.2 Instruction—Necessity
- 9.3 Self-Defense Generally
- 9.4 Pre-1974 Penal Code Self-Defense Law and Jury Instructions
- 9.5 Role of “Provocation” in Self-Defense Instructions
- 9.6 Statutory Presumption
- 9.7 Retreat
- 9.8 Converse Instructions on Self-Defense
- 9.9 Multiple-Assailants Instruction Generally
- 9.10 Instruction—Nondeadly Force in Self-Defense
- 9.11 Nondeadly Force in Self-Defense with Consent Issue
- 9.12 Instruction—Nondeadly Force and Consent Issue
- 9.13 Nondeadly Force in Self-Defense with “Provoking the Difficulty” Issue
- 9.14 When Instruction on “Provoking the Difficulty” Is Proper
- 9.15 Defining Provocation
- 9.16 Abandonment of Provoking Attack
- 9.17 “Right to Arm” and “Provoking the Difficulty”
- 9.18 Defendant’s Verbal Provocation as Insufficient Justification
- 9.19 Instruction—Nondeadly Force and “Provoking the Difficulty” Issue
- 9.20 Instruction—Nondeadly Force—Defendant Arming Himself
- 9.21 Instruction—Threat of Deadly Force in Self-Defense
- 9.22 Deadly Force in Self-Defense Generally
- 9.23 Instruction—Self-Defense Involving Deadly Force to Protect against Deadly Force by Another
- 9.24 Instruction—Self-Defense Involving Deadly Force
- 9.25 Instruction—Self-Defense Involving Deadly Force—Defendant Arming Himself
- 9.26 Deadly Force to Prevent Felony Generally
- 9.27 Instruction—Deadly Force to Prevent Felony
- 9.28 Instruction—Deadly Force to Prevent Felony—Alternative Approach
- 9.29 Self-Defense against Action by Peace Officer Generally
- 9.30 Instruction—Self-Defense against Action by Peace Officer—No Allegation of Excessive Force
- 9.31 Instruction—Self-Defense against Action by Peace Officer—Allegation of Excessive Force
- 9.32 Defense of Others Generally
- 9.33 Instruction—Nondeadly Force in Defense of Another
- 9.34 Defense of Property Generally
- 9.35 Defense of “Habitation” or “Dwelling”
- 9.36 Nondeadly Force in Defense of One’s Own Personal Property—Property in One’s Possession and Recovering Property
- 9.37 Instruction—Nondeadly Force in Defense of One’s Own Personal Property—Preventing Interference with Property in One’s Possession
- 9.38 Instruction—Nondeadly Force in Defense of One’s Own Personal Property—Recovering Property
- 9.39 Nondeadly Force in Defense of Land Generally
- 9.40 Instruction—Nondeadly Force in Defense of Land
- 9.41 Instruction—Deadly Force in Defense of One’s Own Personal Property
- 9.42 Deadly Force in Defense of Land Generally
- 9.43 Instruction—Deadly Force in Defense of Land
- 9.44 Instruction—Nondeadly Force in Defense of Third Person’s Personal Property
- 9.45 Reasonable Discipline Defense Generally
- 9.46 Instruction—Reasonable Discipline Defense
- 9.47 Educator-Student Defense Generally
- 9.48 Instruction—Educator-Student Defense
- 9.49 Guardian-Incompetent Defense Generally
- 9.50 Instruction—Guardian-Incompetent Defense
Comment
The structure of Texas Penal Code section 9.42 creates some difficulty in determining when evidence raises an issue concerning the defense of protection of land as applied to deadly force.
Conceptually, situations in which the evidence suggests the defendant may have been acting to prevent the complainant from escaping with criminally acquired property (and thus triggering section 9.42(2)(B)) do not seem to involve defense of the land on which the crime occurred. Rather, they involve deadly force used to protect the personal property with which the complainant may have been escaping.
On the other hand, section 9.42(2)(A) seems to create a right to use even deadly force to prevent the commission of certain offenses on or to land.