TAMPA, Fla. — Teddy Smith says he was standing his ground when he stabbed another man to death during a road rage incident in Tampa on April 4, 2018. Unfortunately, for his defense team, a judge doesn't agree.
On Thursday, a stand your ground hearing for Smith, once again put the spotlight on one of Florida’s most controversial and often difficult to interpret legal defenses.
Smith says he was standing his ground when he stabbed Gilbert Serna.
The two men were arguing after Serna spat out the window of his Dodge truck, striking Smith’s black BMW.
A shouting match turned physical. Smith claims he thought Serna was reaching for a machete.
Prosecutors placed several witnesses on the stand Thursday. Most of them testified to seeing Smith making some sort of stabbing motion inside the truck before taking off in his car.
Prosecutors question why, if it was only a matter of self-defense, did Smith take off from the scene right after the stabbing -- especially if he thought what he’d done was justified.
Thursday night, a Hillsborough County judge denied Smith's "stand your ground" argument. However, the case again raises the question of just what constitutes "stand your ground."
In the recent, high-profile case of Michael Drejka, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Bob Gualtieri initially said it was a case of stand your ground. Prosecutors disagreed and have charged Drejka with manslaughter.
In the Pasco movie theater shooting, Curtis Reeves’ stand your ground defense was initially denied. But a subsequent change in the law, placing the burden of proof on prosecutors, might eventually get him a new hearing. The state supreme court still has the case.
And Trevor Dooley, who was convicted in 2013 for killing a Valrico father on a basketball court, claimed stand your ground. Dooley was initially convicted of manslaughter. But, just last month, he was granted a new trial by an appeals court. The jury, they said, had received erroneous instructions on what justifies the use of deadly force.
“I would call it evolving,” said Tampa defense lawyer A.J. Alvarez, describing Florida’s stand your ground law.
It’s why defense attorneys like Alvarez are watching cases like Smith’s so closely.
“Most areas of law are pretty well established. There have been hundreds of years of precedent,” said Alvarez, “But with the new law like this, it’s going to take time for the courts to sort out the proper procedure, what constitutes stand your ground and what doesn’t.”
Attorneys say the law could still use more clarification from state lawmakers and direction from the appellate and state supreme courts.
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