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Defense of Property Explained

Defense Of Property

A homicide investigation may result in a finding that the homicide was a justified and non-criminal killing if the homicide investigation finds that the murder was committed in defense of property. A defendant who argues that they were acting in defense of property claims that this exonerates them from the otherwise criminal findings of a homicide investigation. Although this implementation of force has generally been deemed permissible in most cases, few courts have allowed the force applied in defense of property to rise to the level of lethal force. Texas is the only jurisdiction that routinely allows lethal force to be used in defense of property.

If a homicide investigation finds that a property owner employs booby-traps or dangerous dogs in defense of property in their possession, then they may be subject to prosecution under charges that they engaged in a reckless disregard for the consequences of their actions. Homicide charges may not be filed if the dogs or bobby-traps used in defense of property are accompanied by prominent signs warning possible trespassers of their existence. If you need legal advice and assistance, contact defense lawyers.

Most states adhere to the position that the life of a thief should not be lost at the whim of a property owner undertaking an act of vigilante justice. Texas has broadened the legal events in which a property owner is allowed to employ deadly force in defense of property to the point that it is the rare investigation into the defense of property by owners in Texas that is considered a homicide investigation. The legal justification for the law's passage is from the concept that "a man's home is his castle" and that, as a result, an individual is allowed to utilize any level of force they deem appropriate in defense of property.

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