You may not be a violent person or ever think about committing a violent act, but what if you are trying to defend yourself? You may find yourself charged with a crime after trying to defend yourself or your property and wonder if you have a viable case of self-defense.
Texas self-defense laws outline the circumstances under which you are legally allowed to use force, sometimes deadly force, to protect yourself. Texas self-defense laws are based on the concept that you have an inherent right to defend yourself and your loved ones from harm or your property from an intruder.
Depending on the situation, self-defense can be a successful defense to a criminal charge. However, successfully claiming self-defense is not easy. You must meet certain criteria to be legally justified in using physical or deadly force to protect yourself.
Generally, self-defense allows you to use reasonable force to protect yourself, others or your property from imminent threat or harm. The force can be violent or deadly if you truly believe that it is the only action that will protect you.
Force to match force
However, the force you use must be reasonably proportionate to the threat you face to qualify as self-defense. This is sometimes called “force to match force.” You typically cannot use deadly force against someone unless you truly believe that there is an immediate threat to your own life.
For example, if someone throws a punch at you and you respond by pushing them down and smashing their head against concrete, you likely cannot claim self-defense because your reaction was not reasonable.
Punching someone in the nose is usually done with the intent to injure someone but not necessarily kill them, while there is a reasonable likelihood that smashing someone’s head on concrete will result in serious harm or death.
In addition to force to match force, there are a couple of other criteria that must be met to claim self-defense.
Force must be a reaction to a real threat
Your use of force must be immediately necessary to prevent harm to yourself or others. You cannot use force against someone based on a potential future threat or something they have not done yet.
If you say that you used deadly force because you believed that the person was going to kill you, but there is no evidence to support this other than your belief, you cannot use self-defense as justification for your actions.
Additionally, your action must have been necessary to prevent immediate harm. If a person makes a threatening gesture towards you but then turns around and walks away, you cannot use physical force against them and claim self-defense. They were walking away, which can be reasonably interpreted as there being no immediate harm or threat of harm.
Self-defense to protect property
When it comes to property, you can use force to defend your home, vehicle or other property in certain circumstances, such as to prevent theft or trespassing. Using deadly force is rarely seen as justified to protect property on its own unless there is also a threat to your life or safety.
Finally, Texas is a “stand your ground” state. This means that you do not have a legal obligation to try to get out of the situation before using force. You must still meet the above criteria to meet the legal requirements for self-defense.