The notion of booby-traps has been around for as long as human beings have wanted to secure their unattended stuff against unlawful taking. Indeed, although we didn’t spend much time in law school studying use-of-force law generally, some of our memorable case discussion involved the use of deadly-force booby-traps in defense of property specifically. Now out of Illinois we have a case of a man who was tried, and convicted, of murder because a shotgun …
Today’s post is a replay of yesterday’s live recording of our self-defense law analysis program, “Calling the Shots,” hosted by Alien Gear Holsters.
A Georgia homeowner attacked by three armed masked robbers at o-dark-thirty managed to draw his own gun in response and shoot and kill all three of his attackers. Such a highly successful defensive use of a firearm by an armed citizen is, naturally, unacceptable to the Progressive media, so they contort themselves in an effort to suggest that fault lies either with the homeowner himself, or with some defect in the law of self-defense (enter …
In preparing for this weekend’s live Law of Self Defense LEVEL 1 Class in Florida, I came across a Florida court of appeal case that highlights once again the dangers of placing your fate in the hands of strangers, even judges, unless absolutely necessary. In this case, we have a panel of three Florida appellate judges unanimously agreeing on an application of Florida’s core self-defense law in a way that’s plainly and obviously wrong. Ironically, …
When Judges Don’t Understand the Law Read More »
This past December a Colorado man shot and killed a person unlawfully in his home. Normally, Colorado’s “Make My Day” law acts as powerful legal protection for homeowners who use force in defense of their homes against intruders—indeed, it’s arguably the most favorable defense of home statute in the country. Last week, however, a judge ruled that this home defender failed to qualify for the protection of the “Make My Day” statute—because the defender tripped …
Make My Day? Details Matter! Read More »
Today’s post involves the defensive shooting of an armed suspect by a North Carolina deputy almost exactly a year ago but is back in the news this week because the suspect’s family has decided his shooting was inappropriate. Why did the deputy shoot him? Well, when the deputy responded in his patrol car to a 3 AM domestic disturbance call the suspect, standing outside the residence in question, brandished a gun at the deputy, fired …
SURPRISE! Threaten cop, get shot by cop Read More »
This is a “not original content” blog post that’s really just a link to an article by the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) that I thought many of you might be interested in. Enjoy! More People Use a Gun in Self-Defense Each Year Than Die in Car Accidents Remember: You carry a gun so you’re hard to kill. Know the law so you’re hard to convict. –Andrew Attorney Andrew F. Branca Law of Self Defense …
LINK: “More People Use a Gun in Self-Defense Each Year Than Die in Car Accidents” Read More »
Wyoming adopted a form of self-defense immunity in a change to its self-defense statute, 6-2-602 Use of force in self defense, that became effective on July 1, 2018. While that’s good news for law-abiding people who are compelled to defend themselves in the great state of Wyoming, the updated statute fell far short of fully implementing self-defense immunity in a practical way. As often happens with statutory adoption of self-defense immunity, the legislature basically said, …
Birth of a Self-Defense Immunity Law Read More »
One of the most common misconceptions I see held in the gun community by the ill-informed is the belief that if they are ever facing a criminal charge for the use of force against another person, all they need to do to escape criminal liability is “articulate their narrative of self-defense.” Well, no, I’m afraid that’s completely inadequate. What matters is not that a defender has some narrative of self-defense. That’s naturally required, but it’s …
WRONG: “You just need to be able to articulate self-defense!” Read More »
Today’s post is prompted by a long-time member of the Law of Self Defense community, Anthony S. (many thanks!), and it involves a Federal Court of Appeals decision filed just this past July that involves consideration of the Tueller Drill (which the decision refers to as the “21-foot-rule”). What’s perhaps most interesting about this decision is how both the majority and the dissent manage to improperly understand and apply the core lesson of the Tueller …
NEW DECISION: “Tueller Drill” in Federal Court Read More »
