In self-defense, you may have some legal exposure. Georgian self-defense laws and a Georgian defense lawyer can protect you from criminal charges. Even if you are not charged with a crime, the other party can file a civil lawsuit against you. Again, your lawyer can help you fight lawsuits. Article 16-3-21 of the Code of Georgia allows the use of force when you need to protect yourself or someone on your property with permission – a third party – from unlawful violence by someone. However, for a person to legitimately use lethal force, their life must have been in danger. Hopefully, you will never be faced with a situation where you have to assert yourself in Georgia. As a safety precaution, it would be wise to understand how this law works in real-life situations. While Stand Your Ground allows for non-lethal self-defense, it is the greatest protection for you when deadly force has been used. The accused, Tarrance Jennings, was acquitted of aggravated assault and aggravated assault charges after proving that he had the right to use force to defend himself.

State v. Jennings, 337 Ga. App. 164, (2016). The evidence showed that Jennings owed Finch money. Finch and his cousin Robinson grabbed Jennings and pulled him into their car as he was on his way home. Robinson was sitting in the back seat, Jennings choked and hit him. Finch stopped the car outside a friend`s apartment, while Robinson continued to meet Jennings. Finch then came over and pulled Jennings out of the car and held him while they searched his pockets for money.

Jennings was able to reach his sweatshirt, pull out his gun and shoot Robinson. Finch ran to the apartment and Jennings shot him in the back. Jennings threw the gun down the drain and called the police, telling them he wanted to surrender. If someone enters your property, it does not immediately mean that you can use force against them. This premise does not change if the intruder ignored a warning of criminal trespassing on your property. Trespassing is still illegal, but it shouldn`t be a death sentence, so you should always call the police if you notice an intruder instead of aggravating a nonviolent situation with violence. Many States have legalized the use of force for self-defence only in situations where it is impossible to escape safely, but Georgia allows the threatened party to protect itself without making a first attempt to give in. It is not necessary to believe that you are in danger of death or serious bodily harm, as with the law of self-defense. If you believe that threats or violence are necessary to prevent illegal entry or keep an intruder away from your home, then the castle doctrine applies.

You can also use reasonable force to defend property that you own or that belongs to a family member or person you are legally required to protect. While it may seem simple enough, figuring out what`s «reasonable» can be complicated. As experts in Georgia`s «Stand Your Ground» legal code, lawyers Jasmine Barber and Ashley McMahan can fight for your right to defend yourself and argue that your actions were justified. States have self-defence laws that allow persons directly threatened to defend themselves or others with appropriate force without exposing themselves or others to the risk of criminal responsibility. Georgia`s self-defense laws allow people to assert themselves and use appropriate force to defend themselves or others, even if they had the opportunity to flee. This is true whether someone approaches them on the street, in the car or even at home. The legal claim depends on where the defensive action took place and whether the person was defending themselves or other people, property, a house (house or vehicle) or land. LEGISLATION UPDATE: Some Georgian legislators continue to work on amending existing laws. A proposed amendment to Georgia`s law, Georgia SB 244, which would make it legal for a gun owner to draw or display their firearm during an altercation, as long as he or she does not target someone in an «offensive» manner. This law was not adopted by the General Assembly of Georgia in 2020. Georgian law is very specific with regard to what constitutes «justification»: the use of force to defend oneself or others.

The website The Law of Self Defense cites Georgian law, which defines justification as follows: «A person has the right to threaten or use force against another person if and to the extent that he reasonably believes that such threat or force is necessary to defend himself or another person against the imminent use of unlawful force by the other person. A person has the right to use force with intent or likely to cause death or serious bodily harm only if he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that such violence is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily harm to himself or herself or others or the commission of a violent crime. 1. The section further states that, for the purposes of prosecution, a person who claims to have acted outside this definition «bears the burden of proving beyond a doubt that the accused was not justified». «Everyone has the right to threaten or use force against another person if and to the extent that he has reason to believe that such threat or force is necessary to defend himself or another person against the imminent use of unlawful force by that other person; However, a person has the right to use force with intent or likely to cause death or serious bodily harm only if he or she has reasonable grounds to believe that such violence is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily harm to himself or herself or to another person or to prevent the commission of a violent offence. If ever the need to defend yourself, it`s important to understand the Georgia Stand Your Ground Act. The rules and rights that underpin the Georgia Stand Your Ground Act outline exactly what justifies these actions in the face of the imminent threat of danger or lethal force. In deciding whether the law protects a case, investigators must consider many factors. The police must investigate the incident in question. You have to try to determine who the main abuser is, find evidence and find out if the person seeking protection from the law has really tried to defend themselves or harm someone else. Mariia Synytska is Head of Content at Lawrina, a legal portal that projects innovations in law.

Mariia manages website content, conducts interviews with lawyers and legal experts, and researches topics of interest to Lawrina`s audience. If you want to be a blogger for Lawrina, you can email Mariia m.synytska@lawrina.com for all the details. Stand-your-ground laws effectively recognize a person`s right to legally resist an attack by any reasonable means. Basically, a person who feels physically threatened by another person is not forced to withdraw or retreat instead of using force against a potential or actual abuser. In Georgia, this perspective is not limited to a specific space. This means that wherever a person may be threatened or attacked, he or she has authority. If it is assumed that a person reasonably believes that violence is necessary to stop an attack, this is justified in the eyes of the law. Georgia is a «Stand Your Ground» state. This means that under certain circumstances, you can shoot an intruder.

However, you must feel that their lives are in imminent danger.