H.R. 7716 · 116th Congress
American Family and Private Property Defense Act
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 116th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
R
SmithSponsor4 cosponsors · 4 R
3 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill establishes various defenses a defendant charged with a crime of violence may assert and contains other related provisions.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Jul 21, 2020
American Family and Private Property Defense Act
This bill establishes various defenses a defendant charged with a crime of violence may assert and contains other related provisions.
It shall be an affirmative defense if the defendant used force, including deadly force, against another person if the defendant reasonably believed such force was necessary to defend the defendant or a third party from what the defendant reasonably believed was the person's use (or imminent use) of unlawful force. (An affirmative defense allows a defendant to escape criminal liability, but the defendant has the burden to prove that the defendant is entitled to the defense.)
A defendant who used deadly force may also assert this defense if the force was used against a person who unlawfully enters, attempts to unlawfully enter, or remains after unlawfully entering the private property lawfully occupied by a third party.
If such a defendant was the initial aggressor, the defendant may still assert this affirmative defense in certain instances. A defendant has no duty to retreat from any location where the defendant has a right to be.
The bill also establishes an affirmative defense for a defendant who used physical force on another to the extent the defendant reasonably believed such force was necessary to prevent what the defendant reasonably believed to be the commission or attempted commission of theft or damage of property.
Evidence of a defendant suffering from battered spouse syndrome shall be admissible as to the issue of whether the defendant lawfully acted in self-defense or defense of another.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: American Family and Private Property Defense Act
Latest action (Jul 21, 2020): Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement · Origin: House · Introduced: Jul 21, 2020
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.