06/12/2024
On December 12, 2023, after over 5 years of representation and a lot of work, my office and I tried a stand your ground case where my client was found to be immune from prosecution for murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent offense. The client was assaulted in a place where he had a legal right to be. Under South Carolina law, (South Carolina's Protection of Persons and Property Act) a person does not have a duty to retreat if attacked in any place where you have a legal right to be and if there is a reasonable fear of death or great bodily injury to either yourself or another person. You can hold your ground and defend yourself. A person who commits a crime while defending themselves cannot be held criminally responsible for the criminal act. It is so important to understand case law and criminal procedure when preparing for a case like this one. Moreover, it is just as important to understand the evidence while defending these cases.
In this case, my office filed a Grounds and Petition for Immunity and Dismissal believing that my client acted within the confines and parameters of the rules of self-defense based upon the law in South Carolina. Under South Carolina law, a Stand Your Ground motion is a motion normally filed by the defendant to have an evidentiary hearing to determine whether or not the defendant acted in justifiable self defense and to protect them from prosecution if they did. Under South Carolina Law, a defendant is protected from their actions if they can prove they didn't provoke the attack, they believed their attacker would imminently kill them or inflict serious bodily harm and other reasonable persons would have also believed they were in imminent danger if faced with the same situation. If acting in self-defense, it must then be proven the defendant was not engaged in unlawful activity and the defendant had a legal right to be where he was. My client was found to have been protecting himself in an unprovoked attack and cleared of the crimes he was charged with. It is so important to have representation by individuals who will listen to your story and take the law and the facts of your case and zealously defend you.
If we can help you with any of your legal needs, whether it be for a situation like this, or any other criminal charge, DUI, divorce case, or personal injury case, auto accident, 18 wheeler accident, please do not hesitate to give us a call. We love working for our community. Feel free to ask us questions, and we will respond to as many as we can.
