Security Guards in Dallas Nightclub Shooting Likely to Claim Self Defense

In the early morning hours of New Years Day two security guards were arrested and charged with murder for the shooting death of a patron in the parking lot outside of the Dallas nightclub. Witnesses told police that the security guards were attempting to stop and man from leaving in his truck after assaulting another person in the parking lot. It’s reported over twenty shots were fired. Part of the shooting was captured on video.

The attorney’s in this case will likely use self defense as their primary defense to these charges. Under Texas law a person can use deadly force to defend themselves or a third person. In this case the attorney’s will probably will use both. The key to self defense in murder cases is whether the jurors believe the defendant was acting as a reasonable person would under the same circumstances.

The multiple gunshots fired could create a problem for the self defense claim. Jurors sometimes hold it against a defendant if there are multiple shots fired. The criminal attorney will have to convince the jurors that the multiple shots were fired because the threat was still occurring and the threat was real. As in all trials jury selection will be critical in finding jurors who aren’t open to self defense claims or that are biased against a person using a gun to defend themselves