Title: American Family and Private Property Defense Act
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
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.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7716 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7716

    To establish defenses against crimes of violence, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 21, 2020

 Mr. Smith of Missouri (for himself, Mr. Graves of Missouri, Mr. Long, 
and Mr. Luetkemeyer) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To establish defenses against crimes of violence, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``American Family and Private Property 
Defense Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFENSES AGAINST CRIMES OF VIOLENCE.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 28. Defense of self or others
    ``(a) Defense.--
            ``(1) Justifiable use of force.--It is an affirmative 
        defense against any charge for a crime of violence that the 
        defendant only used physical force upon another person to the 
        extent that the defendant reasonably believed such force to be 
        necessary to defend the defendant or a third person from what 
        the defendant reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use 
        of unlawful force by such other person.
            ``(2) Justifiable use of deadly force.--It is an 
        affirmative defense against any charge for a crime of violence 
        that the defendant only used deadly force upon another person--
                    ``(A) to the extent that the defendant reasonably 
                believed such force to be necessary to defend the 
                defendant or a third person from what the defendant 
                reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of 
                unlawful force by such other person;
                    ``(B) if such person unlawfully enters, remains 
                after unlawfully entering, or attempts to unlawfully 
                enter a dwelling, residence, or vehicle lawfully 
                occupied by such person; or
                    ``(C) if such person unlawfully enters, remains 
                after unlawfully entering, or attempts to unlawfully 
                enter private property that is owned or leased by an 
                individual, or is occupied by an individual who has 
                been given specific authority by the property owner to 
                occupy the property, claiming a justification of using 
                protective force under this section.
            ``(3) No duty to retreat.--The defendant has no duty to 
        retreat--
                    ``(A) from a dwelling, residence, or vehicle where 
                the person is not unlawfully entering or unlawfully 
                remaining;
                    ``(B) from private property that is owned or leased 
                by such individual; or
                    ``(C) if the defendant is in any other location 
                such defendant has the right to be.
    ``(b) Application.--
            ``(1) In general.--A defense under subsection (a) shall not 
        apply if the defendant is the initial aggressor, unless--
                    ``(A) the defendant has withdrawn from the 
                encounter and effectively communicated such withdrawal 
                to such other person but the latter persists in 
                continuing the incident by the use or threatened use of 
                unlawful force;
                    ``(B) the defendant is a law enforcement officer; 
                or
                    ``(C) the aggressor's actions are justified under 
                any other provision of law.
            ``(2) Third party.--A defense under subsection (a) shall 
        not apply if, under the circumstances as the defendant 
        reasonably believes them to be, the person whom the defendant 
        is seeking to protect would not be justified in using such 
        protective force.
            ``(3) Felony.--The defendant was attempting to commit, 
        committing, or escaping after the commission of a forcible 
        felony.
    ``(c) Physical Restraint.--The defenses under this section shall 
extend to the use of physical restraint as protective force provided 
that the defendant takes all reasonable measures to terminate the 
restraint as soon as it is reasonable to do so.
    ``(d) Burden.--The defendant shall have the burden of raising any 
defense under this section.  If a defendant asserts that defendant's 
use of force is described under subsection (a)(2), the burden shall 
then be on the Government to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the 
defendant did not reasonably believe that the use of such force was 
necessary to defend against what the defendant reasonably believed was 
the use or imminent use of unlawful force.
``Sec. 29. Defense of property
    ``(a) Defense.--It is an affirmative defense against any charge for 
a crime of violence that the defendant only used physical force upon 
another person to the extent that the defendant reasonably believed 
such force to be necessary to prevent what the defendant reasonably 
believes to be the commission or attempted commission by such person of 
stealing, property damage or tampering in any degree.
    ``(b) Application.--A defense under subsection (a) shall not apply 
if the defendant uses deadly force unless authorized under subsection 
(a).
    ``(c) Physical Restraint.--The defenses under this section shall 
extend to the use of physical restraint as protective force provided 
that the defendant takes all reasonable measures to terminate the 
restraint as soon as it is reasonable to do so.
    ``(d) Burden.--The defendant shall have the burden of raising any 
defense under this section.
``Sec. 30. Battered spouse defense
    ``(a) Defense.--Evidence that the actor was suffering from the 
battered spouse syndrome shall be admissible upon the issue of whether 
the actor lawfully acted in self-defense or defense of another.
    ``(b) Procedure.--If the defendant proposes to offer evidence of 
the battered spouse syndrome, the defendant shall file written notice 
thereof with the court in advance of trial.  Thereafter, the court, 
upon motion of the Government, shall appoint one or more private 
psychiatrists or psychologists or physicians with a minimum of one year 
of training or experience in providing treatment or services to 
intellectually disabled or mentally ill individuals, who are neither 
employees nor contractors of the department of mental health for the 
purposes of performing the examination in question, to examine the 
accused, or shall direct the director of the department of mental 
health, or his designee, to have the accused so examined by one or more 
psychiatrists or psychologists or physicians with a minimum of one year 
of training or experience in providing treatment or services to 
intellectually disabled or mentally ill individuals designated by the 
director, or his designee, for the purpose of examining the defendant.  
No private psychiatrist, psychologist, or physician shall be appointed 
by the court unless he has consented to act.  The examinations ordered 
shall be made at such time and place and under such conditions as the 
court deems proper, except that if the order directs the director of 
the department of mental health to have the accused examined, the 
director, or his designee, shall determine the reasonable time, place 
and conditions under which the examination shall be conducted.  The 
order may include provisions for the interview of witnesses.
    ``(c) Excluding Certain Evidence.--No statement made by the accused 
in the course of any such examination and no information received by 
any physician or other person in the course thereof, whether such 
examination was made with or without the consent of the accused or upon 
his motion or upon that of others, shall be admitted in evidence 
against the accused on the issue of whether he committed the act 
charged against him in any criminal proceeding then or thereafter 
pending in any Federal court.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 1 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``28. Defense of self or others.
``29. Defense of property.
``30. Battered spouse defense.''.
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