PRINTER'S NO. 930
No. 856 Session of 1987
INTRODUCED BY FOX, CAWLEY, JOHNSON, VROON, LANGTRY, MERRY,
BOWSER, JACKSON, PRESTON, TRELLO, HAGARTY, DISTLER, BELFANTI,
KOSINSKI, O'DONNELL, JAROLIN, MOEHLMANN, CARLSON, LEH, PUNT,
MORRIS, LETTERMAN, HASAY, CESSAR, CIVERA, GANNON, MRKONIC,
PERZEL, GEIST, SAURMAN, E. Z. TAYLOR, REBER, MILLER, SEVENTY,
WOGAN, GRUPPO, BURD, BUSH, BOOK, BUNT, STEVENS, OLASZ,
KENNEY, RAYMOND, SEMMEL, FLICK, STABACK, SIRIANNI, FISCHER,
WOZNIAK, KASUNIC AND PETRONE, MARCH 16, 1987
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, MARCH 16, 1987
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, further providing for the justifiable
3 use of force for the protection of property.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Section 507(c) of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania
7 Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
8 § 507. Use of force for the protection of property.
9 * * *
10 (c) Limitations on justifiable use of force.--
11 (1) The use of force is justifiable under this section
12 only if the actor first requests the person against whom such
13 force is used to desist from his interference with the
14 property, unless the actor believes that:
15 (i) such request would be useless;
1 (ii) it would be dangerous to himself or another
2 person to make the request; or
3 (iii) substantial harm will be done to the physical
4 condition of the property which is sought to be protected
5 before the request can effectively be made.
6 (2) The use of force to prevent or terminate a trespass
7 is not justifiable under this section if the actor knows that
8 the exclusion of the trespasser will expose him to
9 substantial danger of serious bodily injury.
10 (3) The use of force to prevent an entry or reentry upon
11 land or the recaption of movable property is not justifiable
12 under this section, although the actor believes that such
13 reentry or caption is unlawful, if:
14 (i) the reentry or recaption is made by or on behalf
15 of a person who was actually dispossessed of the
16 property; and
17 (ii) it is otherwise justifiable under subsection
18 (a)(2).
19 (4) (i) The use of deadly force is justifiable under
20 this section if:
21 (A) there has been an entry into the actor's
22 dwelling;
23 (B) the actor [neither believes nor has reason
24 to believe] does not believe that the entry is
25 lawful; and
26 (C) the actor [neither believes nor has reason
27 to believe] does not believe that force less than
28 deadly force would be adequate to terminate the
29 entry.
30 (ii) If the conditions of justification provided in
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1 subparagraph (i) have not been met, the use of deadly
2 force is not justifiable under this section unless the
3 actor believes that:
4 (A) the person against whom the force is used is
5 attempting to dispossess him of his dwelling
6 otherwise than under a claim of right to its
7 possession; or
8 (B) such force is necessary to prevent the
9 commission of a felony in the dwelling.
10 * * *
11 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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