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Author: Andrew Branca

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Andrew Branca

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.

Posted by Andrew Branca on November 23, 2021 61 Comments
Today the jury heard the last of argument and received their jury instructions in the Arbery case trial, in which defendants Greg McMichael, Travis McMichael, and Roddy Bryan are each facing a count of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, and then the four predicate felony counts (two for aggravated assault and two for false imprisonment). In the interests of keeping our coverage somewhat orderly, I’m going to address each of the day’s major events—the closing rebuttal of ADA Linda Dunikoski and the reading of the instructions to the jury by Judge Timothy Walmsley—separately.  I covered the Dunikoski rebuttal in my previous piece of content, so here I’ll cover Judge Walmsley’s instruction of the jury.

Posted by Andrew Branca on November 23, 2021 18 Comments
Today the jury heard the last of argument and received their jury instructions in the Arbery case trial, in which defendants Greg McMichael, Travis McMichael, and Roddy Bryan are each facing a count of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, and then the four predicate felony counts (two for aggravated assault and two for false imprisonment). In the interests of keeping our coverage somewhat orderly, I’m going to address each of the day’s major events—the closing rebuttal of ADA Linda Dunikoski and the reading of the instructions to the jury by Judge Timothy Walmsley—separately.  Here I’ll cover Dunikoski’s rebuttal.

Posted by Andrew Branca on November 23, 2021 53 Comments
Welcome to our ongoing coverage of the Ahmaud Arbery case trial, in which Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael, and William "Ryan" Bryan are on trial on charges of murder and other felonies over the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery on February 23, 2020 in Brunswick GA.   This is our VERDICT WATCH post, where we will share any fast-breaking news on verdicts and other events around the jury deliberations which begin today.

Posted by Andrew Branca on November 23, 2021 44 Comments
Welcome to our ongoing coverage of the Ahmaud Arbery case trial! We will share any fast-breaking news on today's closing arguments, which will consist of the State's final rebuttal. Then we'll have Judge Walmsley instruct the jury, and the jury go into deliberations.

Posted by Andrew Branca on November 23, 2021 40 Comments
Kyle Rittenhouse has been acquitted of all the criminal charges against him, the only possible verdict consistent with justice in a case with this evidence and law.  Having been acquitted in criminal court, he is now free of any possible criminal liability for his actions in lawfully defending himself on August 25, 2020.

Posted by Andrew Branca on November 22, 2021 59 Comments
Today was the first of two days of closing arguments in the Ahmaud Arbery case trial, in which defendants Greg McMichael, Travis McMichael, and Roddy Bryan are each facing a count of malice murder, four counts of felony murder, and then the four predicate felony counts (two for aggravated assault and two for false imprisonment). So as not to bury the lede, the take-home message is that if I were being asked to render a verdict today, after listening to the State’s closing and all of the defense closing (but not yet the State’s rebuttal), and having not seen any of the actual trial, I’d be obliged to acquit all three defendants of all charges.

Posted by Andrew Branca on November 22, 2021 96 Comments
Welcome to our ongoing coverage of the Ahmaud Arbery case trial! We will share any fast-breaking news on today's closing arguments, as well as any verdicts and events around the jury deliberations which may begin today. (When deliberations start we will have a new VERDICT WATCH post.  (If you're unfamiliar with this case, scroll down for background information.)

Posted by Andrew Branca on November 18, 2021 188 Comments
Today completed the third day of jury deliberations in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, with no verdict being achieved before the jury was sent home for the day. There wasn’t much real action today, with the exception of a couple of notable events, and my own increasing belief that we’re dealing with a single hold-out juror for guilt, and that this juror is #54, the foreperson.

Posted by Andrew Branca on November 17, 2021 423 Comments
Today completed the second day of jury deliberations in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, with no verdict being achieved before the jury was sent home for the day.The jury deliberations take place in private, of course, so we can only speculate as to what discussions are taking place amongst the 12 jurors.  That doesn't mean the day was uneventful, however, as the defense once again asked Judge Bruce Schroeder for a mistrial--notably, this time a mistrial without prejudice, meaning that Rittenhouse would be subject to a retrial on these charges.

Posted by Andrew Branca on November 16, 2021 562 Comments
NEW POST - see here for updated verdict information as of Wednesday --

Rittenhouse VERDICT WATCH: Mistrial With Prejudice?

Prior coverage: Welcome to our ongoing coverage of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial! This is our VERDICT WATCH post, where we will share any fast-breaking news on verdicts and other events around the jury deliberations which begin today. I encourage you to bookmark or just leave open in your browser, but you will have to refresh for updates.

Posted by Andrew Branca on November 15, 2021 154 Comments
The closing statements are now done in the Rittenhouse trial, and the jury will now begin deliberations—although not until tomorrow morning.  That means, of course, that we’ll be launching or VERDICT WATCH blog post in the morning at Legal Insurrection, so keep your eyes there for breaking news on a verdict. And with that, let's dive into the unpleasant task of noting the poor closing argument presented by the defense in this case.

Posted by Andrew Branca on November 15, 2021 548 Comments
Welcome back to our ongoing live coverage of the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse. Kyle is charged with a variety of felonies, including first-degree murder, for shooting three men, two fatally, as well as for alleged reckless conduct on the night of August 25, 2020, in riot-torn Kenosha WI. Today the court will instruct the jury, explaining to them how to apply the law to the facts of the case as they determine those facts to have been proven or disproven.  This will be followed by the State's closing argument, the defense closing argument, and the State rebuttal.  At that point, the jury will begin its deliberations. Once the jury goes into deliberations, we will go into VERDICT WATCH mode, so keep your eyes right here for breaking news and analysis of the final verdict(s) in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial.
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