About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

30 Berkeley J. Gender L. & Just. 154 (2015)
No Ground on Which to Stand: Revise Stand Your Ground Laws So Survivors of Domestic Violence Are No Longer Incarcerated for Defending Their Lives

handle is hein.journals/berkwolj30 and id is 168 raw text is: No Ground on Which to Stand: Revise Stand Your Ground Laws So Survivors of Domestic Violence are No Longer Incarcerated for Defending Their Lives Brandi L. Jacksont ABSTRACT When George Zimmerman fatally shot Trayvon Martin in a Florida suburb, the event stirred national attention and outrage toward Florida's Stand Your Ground laws. Much publicity focused on how the law essentially legalizes racial profiling by excusing defendants who kill racial minorities based on reasonable fear. While these ideas convey significant truths about pervasive societal problems, focusing on only one horrendous case as a platform to abolish, or substantially limit, Stand Your Ground laws overlooks the adverse effects such abolition would have on women who respond to domestic violence. Domestic violence is a serious and widespread problem in our society. Women continue to endure severe abuse at the hands of their intimate partners. Given the barriers to safe retreat, it is reasonable for many women to choose to remain in such relationships. Regardless of whether a woman in an abusive t The author will receive a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall) in 2015. As a law student, the author took the Domestic Violence Law course and participated in the Domestic Violence Practicum at Berkeley Law. She spent a summer at The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, where she provided legal assistance to underserved minority populations. She spent the following summer at the Santa Clara County Alternate Defender's Office, where she served clients who were adversely affected by domestic violence, gender biases, and the severely imbalanced criminal justice system. She is grateful to Nancy Lemon, John and Elizabeth Boalt Lecturer, whose Domestic Violence seminar provided the impetus for this piece, and who provided valuable feedback and suggestions. She is also grateful to editorial team of the Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice for excellent editorial assistance. BERKELEY JOURNAL OF GENDER, LAW & JUSTICE

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most