The Law of Self Defense: The Indispensable Guide to the Armed Citizen

I purchased this book after seeing a positive review on a discussion forum from another forum member who took a live course with Andrew. I found it easy to read, entertaining and informative. I am a lawyer (but no experience with this area of law at all since law school years ago), and think it is well-suited to the general reader, as well as to lawyers or others more familiar with legal concepts and approaches - the author doesn't over-simplfy conplex concepts, but also makes the subject matter easily approachable. I also very much appreciate that the author maintains a website with up-to-date law revisions and new case law, as well as providing commentary on recent news stories / reports of defensive (or, regrettably, not) firearms use. There were a few instances of material / concepts that were substantially repeated only a paragraph or two away from previous, similar instances (*not* in the chapter summaries that are provided after each chapter) that a better job of editing might have addressed, but that did not, IMHO, detract from the overall value of the information presented or the style in which it was presented and explained. I think this book is an incredibly valuable resource for anyone who owns a firearm that might be used in a self-defense situation, and without hesitation would recommend it to the responsible firearm owner.

Comprehensive overview of the law of self-defense. Don’t miss this book, it is a must read for anyone who owns/carries a firearm for self-defense.

This is a comprehensive, understandable discussion of laws affecting individuals who present or fire a handgun in self-defense by defense attorney Andrew Branca with a foreword by Massad Ayoob.. If you must defend yourself or others in your home, car or place of business; carry concealed or open carry this book should be in your personal library and must reading----"it ain't over until it's over" and the conclusion of the incident (i.e. you and others are safe and the police have arrived after a righteous shooting) is just the beginning of what you will be subjected to under law proving that the shooting was indeed self-defense. The state-specific laws included in the book give you an opportunity to look up the laws in your state or in states you will be traveling armed as of 2016. What to say and what not to say to increase your chances of having your actions deemed self-defense. Contents: Chapter 1--Legal Principles and Processes Competing Narratives Standards of Proof Burdens of Proof The Criminal Justice Pipeline The Crime Charged The Legal Defense of Self-Defense Chapter 2: Element 1: Innocence How Innocence is Lost Thresholds Pursuit/Sustaining a Fight Mutual Combat Escalation Regaining (legal) Innocence Chapter 3: Element 2: Imminence The AOJ (Ability, Opportunity and Jeopardy) Triad Battered Spouse Syndrome Chapter 4: Element 3: Proportionality Deadly Force Non-Deadly Force Duration of Force Mere Threat v. Use of Force Chapter 5: Element 4: Avoidance Duty to Retreat Stand Your Ground Chapter 6: Element 5: Reasonableness Objective Reasonableness Subjective Reasonableness Presumptions of Reasonableness Chapter 7: Defense of Others Reasonable Perception Framework Alter Ego Framework The Inherent Uncertainties of Someone Else's Fight Additional Rules to Defending Others Chapter 8: Defense of Property Highly Defensible Property Least Defensible Property When the Law Allows for Greater Force Chapter 9: Interacting with the Police Reporting the Incident "Never Talk to the Police" The Say Little Approach Chapter 10: A Legally-Sound Defense Strategy Avoidance Escape/Retreat De-Escalation Diversified Toolbox Cognitive Conditioning Chapter 11: Was It Worth It? Learn More About Andrew Branca And extremely important: State-specific Legal Information/Tables: Provocation/Aggressor Laws Regaining Innocence Laws When Deadly Force is Justified Laws on Duty to Retreat, Deadly Force Legal Presumption of Reasonableness Justifiable Use of Force in Defense of Others Use of Non-Deadly Force in Defense of Property Use of Force in Defense of Property Your life and lives of others may require you to defend yourself with lethal force and even when the actions are deemed self-defense you may face civil lawsuit by family members of the perpetrator(s)---ever thought you might need insurance coverage for firearms or that your homeowner's insurance would cover you in case of a firearms incident? Read this book and rethink your potential legal liability and/or jeopardy. This book is indispensable and I recommend it highly along with books by Massad Ayoob and the NRA.

I will join with many of the other reviewers and say that this book is a must read for anyone who has any type of self-defense weapon on their person or in their home. After reading the book, I've come to the sober conclusion that the law doesn't seem to favor the ordinary person who is simply trying to defend themselves. In order to prevail, it would seem that each person needs to have a law degree from Harvard, and the ability to slow down time in the event of lethal force situation. This is the case because the legal system, chops up your deadly force encounter, which is measured in seconds, into an esoteric academic exercise where the actions of the parties are scrutinized at the the nano-second level. One can almost imagine a panel of ancient philosophers, psychologists, and scholars evaluating who is in the right and who is in the wrong at any given fraction of a second in the timeline of events. In our system of justice, such reflection is done by the police, the DA's office, your defense attorney, and a jury of your peers -- folks who know nothing about the law. The author presents a very sobering view of how the legal system works for those who choose to defend themselves in a violent encounter. Yes, you may have killed the bad guy, and you may feel that you are right, but if the legal system choses to pursue your actions, you will have two outcomes; the price tag of your legal defense and your freedom, or, 20 years to life in prison. On several occasions, while reading, I thought that death or serious bodily injury might actually be a good option given the real possibility of jail for the rest of my life, a fate that might be assigned by a gun hostile jury or some real error I made in the deadly encounter. For all of those folks with high capacity magazines, heed this warning. Every single shot you fire in self-defense will be evaualted by the DA. As the author pointed out, there was a case where a subject fired 6 shots. Three were deemed self-defense, while the last 3 were considered attempted murder. The defender was convicted on the 3 "bad" shots and got a life sentence plus 90 years. So, a magazine with 20 rounds is a joke. If you shoot 20 rounds in a self defense case, you are in for a world of trouble with the justice system. Lastly, know your state laws. The author goes to great length to compare differences in state law for self-defense. Infact, the last third of this book, is a comprehensive digest of every state law for a meriad of serif-defense issues. This book is a must read for all gun owners. The purpose of this book, in my opinion, is to form a proper mental attitude for a self-defense situation. This book really makes you think about the "un-locks" you might have in order to draw a weapon and use it.

As a license nra firearms instructor i highly recommend this book it has a lot of valuable information that can make a difference

Recently purchased this book to familiarize myself with the law regarding Self-Defense. Attorney Andrew Branca does an excellent job distilling Self-Defense Law into five easy-to-remember core principles: Innocence, Imminence, Proportionality, Avoidance, and Reasonableness. He breaks down each of these legal aspects of Self-Defense Law into simple explanations that are easily understood by the common layperson, and provides several examples in case law for each principle to illustrate how following and disregarding each of the principles can help or harm your legal claim of Self-Defense. Once these aspects are explained, he also details the trial process, and provides a useful strategy for staying within the bounds of Self-Defense Law and interacting with Law Enforcement appropriately, if one ever has to make the legal claim of Self-Defense. This book is well worth your time if you have ever considered everyday or concealed carry of lethal and non-lethal means of Self-Defense. Also, Attorney Andrew Branca has a pretty informative podcast Q&A each week that discusses recent news events as they relate to Self-Defense that I find interesting and useful. Haven't signed up for full access membership to his podcast, but I would imagine it is just as useful as these two resources. I highly recommend.

A great read on the law of self defense, as the title hints at. It has a lot of jargon, but this is jargon that if read will keep your butt out of jail if understood and followed. Now I'm not a lawyer so take the following for what you will, but ideally, just don't start anything and avoid everything, altercation wise. If that doesn't work, that's where the book comes in.

This book is a solid resource for anyone interested in self-defense. The techniques are explained clearly, and it emphasizes awareness and prevention just as much as physical action. A great addition to any personal safety toolkit.