Texas Dwi Lawyer

Q: I wasn't asking him about a burglar (which could be a life-threat to his family) or if was talking state code or not -- I was asking him a more personal question, if he has ever taken a person's life for committing a non-life threatening crime against him. Do you know what the problem is? Can anyone give me some suggestion???

A: I'm going a bit out on a limb here (and if anyone has better information--like you are a Texas criminal lawyer or such, please chime in), but the way it was explained to me is that a property owner does not have to asertain the nature or validity of the threat before using deadly force. The property owner is required to *believe* that a person on his or her property represents a threat against either his or her person or

his or her property (I think it is the last that catches us non-native Texans unaware). I also think that there is some limited "hot pursuit" protection as well--that you could lawfully shoot someone on your property feeling after having stolen property. Again, this is more or less just what I have picked up, but you are pretty much free of threat of prosecution if that hot pursuit ends with someone shot on your own property while in flight. Perhaps the real import of all this for residents is that there are people out there who firmly believe they can shoot me if I stray onto their property after dark (whether they legally can or not), so I tend to watch where I step