Login | May 15, 2025
Bill would provide new court guidelines for self-defense claims
KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: May 14, 2025
A northwest Ohio state lawmaker has introduced legislation meant to “balance the scales” for citizens who justifiably act in self-defense but are eventually charged criminally for their actions.
“I have spent many years working in criminal defense in different roles in Lucas County and northwest Ohio,” Rep. Josh Williams, a Republican from Sylvania Township, began during a recent Judiciary Committee hearing in the House of Representatives. “During this time, I represented a client accused of murder who
had, by all the evidence, acted in self-defense. The county prosecutors declined to consider the strong evidence of self-defense and went ahead with the charges. As a result, my client’s life was completely upended.”
The instance to which Williams referenced resulted in the forced sale of his client’s home and vehicle, nine months’ pretrial detainment in jail and court and legal fees in the tens of thousands of dollars before the man was acquitted, he said.
“It is an injustice that a man who bravely fought for his country and risked his own life had to not only protect his own life against an armed assailant but also had to fight for his life again in court,” Williams said. “Up to now, the scales of justice have been tilted against those who act in self-defense.”
House Bill 108 would provide new guidelines for courts to adjudicate a self-defense claim, according to the legislation.
Enactment of the measure would allow a defendant to file a pretrial motion, asserting that the individual acted in self-defense and requesting the court to establish a rebuttable presumption of that fact.
The motion request would trigger the court to hold a pretrial hearing in which the individual would be granted the opportunity to present evidence supporting the self-defense assertion.
According to analysis by the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, if the argument is supported by a preponderance of the evidence, the court must grant the pretrial motion.
The granting of such a motion would establish a rebuttable presumption that the accused person acted in self-defense.
HB 108 would stipulate that a prosecutor may rebut the presumption by proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not use force in self-defense.
“This presumption can make all the difference for a defendant, and would have changed the trial for my own client,” Williams said. “Without a rebuttable presumption, a defendant maintains the burden of production––meaning the defendant is responsible for producing evidence that tends to support that they acted in self-defense. However, in his case, key video and audio evidence was overlooked by the police, handicapping my client’s ability to meet his burden. The rebuttable presumption granted in pretrial would shift the burden back to the prosecution, thereby relieving the onus from the defendant to produce evidence in support of his self-defense claim at trial.”
Current law allows an individual to act in self-defense, the defense of another or the defense of his residence, analysis noted.
“Currently, a person who asserts the right of self-defense in court must give up his Fifth Amendment right and testify in front of the jury to effectively make the affirmative case for self-defense,” the lawmaker continued. “A defendant should never have to sacrifice one right to exercise another, and the pretrial hearing is key to preserving both of those rights.”
In addition, the pretrial hearing that would be created by HB 108 should provide more clarity to the court at the outset of the trial, he said.
“With the additional protections for those who assert self-defense, prosecutors will be forced to consider evidence of self-defense more seriously and respect the right to self-defense that all Ohioans possess,” Williams said.
The bill awaits further consideration by the committee.
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