PROBLEM

Susan is married to Fred.

She is 36 years old, 5'5"

and weighs 120 pounds.

They live in Fort Worth at

236 June Street.

Susan teaches an evening "RAD Class"

("Rape Aggression Defense") at UTA. She is also

an avid "cross fit" workout participant.

Bob and Joe are friends from high school.

Each is 6'1'' and weighs approximately 190 pounds. Bob lives

in his house at Fort Worth at 234 June Street.

Joe lives in Dallas.

Bob and Joe

meet other friends at a bar in Fort Worth one night. Joe is wearing jeans, a T-shirt that

says, "Born to

Kick Ass"

and has a scruffy beard and

many tattoos on his exposed arms.

Bob gets

tired after three hours of barhopping and suggests to Joe he just spend the night with him in his extra

bedroom at his house at 232 June Street, so Joe does not have to drive back to Dallas. Joe says, " Great

idea, let me see you there in 45 minutes or so." He has been to Bob's house once before.

Joe leaves the bar later and

pulls up to 232 June Street at 12:45 AM.

Joe knocks on the

front door

numerous times, yells "Let me in, jerk!" but Bob never comes to let him in.

Joe is annoyed and cold,

too. He goes around to the back patio, yelling now, and notices the back patio door appears slightly

open. It is stuck a bit but he forces it open. As he walks through the door, he yells "I am here!"

Joe takes

one-step into the kitchen when he shockingly sees a strange female standing 15 feet away inside the

door of the kitchen.

She is holding a gun, and then cuts on the kitchen overhead light. He yells, "Who

are you? With outstretched arms (with nothing in either hand), he stumbles forward.

Susan smells

alcohol on Joe but she says nothing.

Joe is cursing ("Who are you, bitch?".) He stops and steadies

himself. He begins to move forward again.

Susan immediately pulls the trigger and shoots Joe who by

now is 6 feet away.

The police investigation shows Susan/Fred live in house next door to Bob at 232 June Street.. Susan said

she heard a

weird voice yelling something from the

front porch,

quietly called Fred

on cell who was

asleep

in

a Memphis hotel on a trip and said

"I hear noise at front door-what do I do?" He told her

"Call the police, then get the gun out of the shoe box in closet, pull hammer back, aim and pull trigger."

She calls 911 number-dispatcher says, "Police car will be there at most in 4 minutes."

She immediately

tip-toed into kitchen (i.e. down hallway, through living room where front door

was,through dining room),cuts on kitchen light, and shot Joe without saying

one word. The police

arrived 2 minutes later.

See below the key portion of Texas' self-defense statute. Can Susan use this successfully in her defense if

she is charged with murder of Joe? Yes, or no? Which facts below support your position?

SELF-DEFENSE.

(a) A person is justified in using force against

another when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force

is immediately necessary to protect the actor against the other's use

or attempted use of unlawful force.