ASSI 3(20)

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Who Is Criminally and/or Civilly Liable in the Following Shooting?

In 2016, in a quiet gated community along Florida’s east coast, a large family gathered for an afternoon Easter dinner and to stay a few days at a large sprawling home. Relatives traveled from several states to join the festivities. A wealthy computer scientist who held several patents owned the home. As the evening celebration progressed, several relatives drank heavily. By midnight, the house was silent as everyone slept. According to the scientist, at about 2:00 a.m. a male cousin entered his bedroom where he was sleeping. The scientist’s cousin began arguing so he told his cousin he would meet him downstairs in the living room so they could talk. Before leaving his bedroom, the scientist grabbed his pistol. While in the living room, according to the scientist, his cousin grabbed the pistol, it discharged, struck the cousin in the chest, and he fell to the floor. The scientist placed the pistol on a couch and telephoned security. While security was responding, the cousin got up off the floor, grabbed the pistol, and both men struggled as they approached the front door. When they reached the door, an armed security officer showed up at the same moment and saw the cousin shoot the scientist. Immediately, the security officer reached for the front door that was unlocked, opened it, and shot the cousin who fell to the floor and died. Although the scientist was

arrested, with only one witness (i.e., the scientist) and weak forensic evidence, police and prosecutors were unsuccessful in the criminal case against the scientist. The cousin’s mother sued the scientist, the contract security company, and the gated community; she won a sizable award. The security officer was not prosecuted.