Andrew F. Branca is in his third decade of practicing law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He wrote the first edition of the "Law of Self Defense" in 1997, and is currently in the process of completing the fully revised and updated second edition, which you can preorder now at lawofselfdefense.com. He began his competitive shooting activities as a youth in smallbore rifle, and today is a Life Member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and a Life Member and Master-class competitor in multiple classifications in the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA). Andrew has for many years been an NRA-certified firearms instructor in pistol, rifle, and personal protection, and has previously served as an Adjunct Instructor on the Law of Self Defense at the SigSauer Academy in Epping, NH. He holds or has held concealed carry permits for Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, Pennsylvania, Florida, Utah, Virginia, and other states.
Concludes a blanket ban of carry of handguns outside the home cannot survive ANY level of scrutiny, and is therefore unconstitutional....
Immediate danger, such as must be instantly met, such as cannot be guarded against by calling for the assistance of others or the protection of the law . . . Such an appearance of threatened and impending injury as would put a reasonable and prudent person to his instant defense.In other words, the threat is about to happen right now.
New Jersey copJoseph Walker is charged with murder in the road-side shooting death of the unarmed Joseph Harvey, Jr. in Maryland...
The evening of February 27, 2008, in the Miami area, Gabriel Mobley and a friend were viciously attacked by two men. Using his licensed concealed carry pistol, Mr. Mobley successfully fought off the attack, killing both of the aggressors. He was charged with two counts of second degree murder – murder which, under Florida law, requires “malice”.
Just how bad a lawyer can be and still be deemed by the courts to have provided "effective counsel"?
We all have a Constitutional right to legal representation, and further we have the right that such representation be “effective.” If a lawyer is bad enough, a guilty verdict may be overturned on the basis of “ineffective assistance of counsel.” Many people, however, don’t really understand just how bad a lawyer can be, and still be deemed to have been “effective.” In the recently decided case of Hines v. State, 2014 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 376 (TN Ct. App. 2014) we see that the answer is apparently, pretty darn bad.Florida’s just-signed “warning shot” law unlikely to help Marissa Alexander
I neglected, however, to point out one particular facet of Florida's new law that could potentially--not reasonably, but potentially--provide some benefit to Alexander. So, I'll cover that here. Before I do, however, the enormous volume of misinformation that continues to be promulgated about this case obliges me to first point out all the ways the "warning shot" bill does not help Alexander.Donations tax deductible
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