Dorsey v. State
Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District
74 So.3d 521 (2011)
John Dorsey (defendant), a convicted felon illegally carrying a concealed firearm at a party, was surrounded and cursed at by a group of men, one of whom, Lott, struck him hard in the face; Dorsey immediately drew his gun and fatally shot both Lott and another man, Bunting, both wounds consistent with the victims leaning forward when struck. The trial court denied Dorsey's motion for acquittal and instructed the jury on the Stand Your Ground law despite defense counsel's objection that Dorsey, as a felon unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon, was not engaged in lawful activity and so the law should not apply; a jury convicted him of second-degree murder for both deaths along with weapons charges.
Whether a person may justifiably use deadly force to repel an attacker without retreating under Florida's Stand Your Ground law if he (1) is engaged in lawful activity, (2) is attacked somewhere he has a right to be, and (3) believes deadly force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or another or to prevent a forcible felony.