{"id":15503,"date":"2026-01-28T10:41:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T17:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/?p=15503"},"modified":"2026-01-28T10:41:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T17:41:20","slug":"bill-would-force-wyoming-counties-to-pay-self-defense-legal-fees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/2026\/01\/28\/bill-would-force-wyoming-counties-to-pay-self-defense-legal-fees\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Would Force Wyoming Counties To Pay Self-Defense Legal Fees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s a good insurance policy against activist DA’s promoting an anti-gun agenda instead of following the law. And it would be good news for citizens of liberal cities like Laramie and Jackson most likely to have trouble. Of course, we’re still in Wyoming, where going against gun rights will probably end your political career. Consequently, there’s a very good chance jurors here in Wyoming will give you the benefit of the doubt in defending yourself, and you have to love Wyoming, where there’s more guns than people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/cowboystatedaily.com\/2026\/01\/27\/bill-would-force-wyoming-counties-to-pay-self-defense-legal-fees\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
If a Wyomingite kills somebody, claims self-defense, is charged with murder, but is cleared, the county that charged them would be on the hook for all the defendant\u2019s legal fees and other expenses, according to a bill before the Wyoming Legislature.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

By Mark Heinz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"From
From a gun rights and self-defense standpoint, the passage of House Bill 14 would be a win, Mark Jones of Buffalo (pictured), a national director for Gun Owners of America, told Cowboy State Daily. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If a Wyomingite kills somebody, claims self-defense, is charged with murder, but is cleared, the county that charged them would be on the hook for all the defendant\u2019s legal fees and other expenses, according to a bill before the Legislature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That could add up to roughly $1 million in some cases, Casper attorney Ryan Semerad told Cowboy State Daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a gun rights and self-defense standpoint, the passage of House Bill 14<\/a> would be a win, Mark Jones of Buffalo, a national director for Gun Owners of America, told Cowboy State Daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill\u2019s primary sponsor is Rep. Gary Brown, R-Cheyenne, who did not return messages on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill\u2019s text states that \u201cthe county where the person was charged or subject to criminal prosecution shall reimburse the person for all reasonable costs, including loss of time, bail costs, attorney fees and other costs and expenses involved in the person’s defense, including the costs of seeking or receiving an expungement\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018You\u2019d Better Get It Right\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Similar statutes exist in other states and are intended to stop over-zealous or \u201cmalicious prosecutors\u201d from going after people who shoot in self-defense, Jones said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Semerad, of the Casper-based firm Fuller and Semerad LLC., has defended numerous clients, including both civilians and law enforcement officers in self-defense or lethal use of force cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that for the most part, prosecutors in Wyoming are prudent about charging people with murder and generally don\u2019t go after clear-cut instances of self-defense or legitimate use of force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think our prosecutors try to separate the wheat from the chaff,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless, he thinks the bill would send a strong message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s \u2018wow,\u2019 that\u2019s really my reaction,\u201d he said, though the full implications of the legislation remain to be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is a strong signal to prosecutors, \u2018you\u2019d better get it right,\u2019\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Self-Defense Turns Deadly<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wyoming\u2019s self-defense statute<\/a> allows for the use of force, up to and including \u201cdeadly force if necessary to prevent imminent death or serious bodily injury to the person employing the deadly force or to another person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There also is no duty to retreat, meaning Wyoming is a \u201cstand-your- ground state\u201d when it comes to legitimate self-defense, Jones said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gun Owners of America supports HB 14 and worked on it with Brown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Semerad agreed that HB 14 seems to fit Wyoming\u2019s \u201cgun-friendly\u201d ethic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If passed, the Legislature would be saying, \u201c\u2018We mean it when we want people to be able to defend themselves,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big Money On The Line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The gist of the bill is to protect Wyomingites who might have to use deadly force from lengthy and expensive court battles, Jones said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some less gun-friendly states, prosecutors have \u201ctied people up in expensive court cases for long periods of time, and it\u2019s cost them tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, in cases which they never would have been convicted,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He thinks HB 14 is aimed at discouraging those sorts of frivolous charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not designed to let somebody commit a crime and get away with it,\u201d Jones said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Semerad said that bail can run from $258,000 to $1 million in second-degree murder cases, and $500,000 to $2 million in first-degree murder cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A bail bond agent might charge a fraction of the cost to cover bail, say roughly $12,000 to cover $100,000 bond, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, even without a law like HB 14 on the books, bail is usually reimbursed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBond is just a guarantee that you\u2019ll show up for future court dates,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But attorney fees can be a whopper, Semerad added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn homicide cases, attorney\u2019s fees can easily be a pretty solid five figures to six figures,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chilled Negotiations?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

HB 14 would put county prosecutors \u201con the hook\u201d for expenses once a homicide charge was filed, even if it was later dismissed, Semerad said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some cases, defense attorneys and prosecutors will try to negotiate terms, rather than run a case through court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He doesn\u2019t think HB 14 would \u2018chill\u2019 such negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he understands it, even if the bill is passed, prosecutors could still ask for the defense to forfeit any possible reimbursement of expenses as part of the bargain, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that some people might have a romantic, or heroic concept of what it would be like to shoot in self-defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in reality, he\u2019s seen how taking another\u2019s life, even when it\u2019s completely justified, has shaken his clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is an incredibly sobering and somber and chaotic experience. Nobody wants to be in the shoes,\u201d he said.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s a good insurance policy against activist DA’s promoting an anti-gun agenda instead of following the law. And it would be good news for citizens of liberal cities like Laramie and Jackson most likely to have trouble. Of course, we’re still in Wyoming, where going against gun rights will probably end your political career. Consequently, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wyoming"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jason","author_link":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/author\/jturning\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15503"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15504,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15503\/revisions\/15504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}