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Old July 30, 2010, 11:39 AM   #127
Evan Thomas
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Join Date: July 7, 2008
Location: Upper midwest
Posts: 5,631
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bartholomew Roberts
The really absurd thing about the "reductio ad waffle house" argument is that it implies you are somehow guilty for the acts of another (the shooter) by not acting; but if you do act and kill some innocent, you are absolved of the guilt because of your intentions.

That pretty much stands on its head every concept of personal responsibility I've ever heard.
That is a concise and splendid summary, BR.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Glenn Bartley
I am not saying that good intentions will get you off of the hook if you injure or kill someone while trying to save an innocent third party. I am saying that you, all of you, as shooters, should push for passage of Castle Doctrine and Good Samaritan laws (relative to protecting others with force) in your states if your state does not already have such laws.
As Fiddletown notes, Good Samaritan laws apply to cases in which it's the "helpee" who is injured by someone trying to render aid. If you run over a pedestrian while making a U-turn so you can help at the scene of an accident, you're not protected from being sued by the pedestrian.

And as to protection under Castle Doctrine from being sued for harm you do to third parties, that very thing is the subject of a current thread in Law and Civil Rights. So far, no one has been able to point to a state law that protects you from this; some, such as Texas, appear explicitly to exclude such protection.

From that thread:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bartholomew Roberts View Post
[Protection from liability] is however limited to circumstances of "deadly force that is justified under Chapter 9 Penal Code." Looking through Chapter 9 of the Penal Code, we have 9.05 which says:

"Sec. 9.05. RECKLESS INJURY OF INNOCENT THIRD PERSON. Even though an actor is justified under this chapter in threatening or using force or deadly force against another, if in doing so he also recklessly injures or kills an innocent third person, the justification afforded by this chapter is unavailable in a prosecution for the reckless injury or killing of the innocent third person."
So... no. Neither Castle Doctrine nor Good Samaritan laws will get you off the hook for harm you do to third parties, no matter how good your intentions may have been.

Nor should they.
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Last edited by Evan Thomas; July 30, 2010 at 04:30 PM.
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