Family friend in shoot-out

One had a .22 revolver. Rick, who is a scrappy guy, immediately went for his own .38.

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This time it ended well. Had both assailants been armed, who knows? Wonder whether Rick has since obtained more firepower or feels that his revolver is all he'll ever need.

in California, Rick would be going to jail.I have GOT to get out of California.

The jury may consider not only the facts of the case, but the law itself and whether or not it was applied fairly. Also, the jury can vote to acquit if they feel the accused was subjected to excessive force or cruel treatment while in custody.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_nullification

Also, the jury can vote to acquit if they feel the accused was subjected to excessive force or cruel treatment while in custody.

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True. A judge cannot change a acquital or a not guilty verdict.

If u r found not guilty of murder u can still be sued in civil court for money. I.e. oj Simpson

Birdmang said:

I know what I would want to do.

But

I don't know what I would do, and I bet that most of you who haven't been in these situations or haven't been trained for it wouldn't know how to react.

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Birdmang,.....AMEN!

Options

To me, a lot has to do with a few things..was their tons of money involved, did he have insurance etc. Would it be worth getting seriously hurt or maybe killed for, or just give them the money and and get their descriptions etc.

To me, a lot has to do with a few things..was their tons of money involved, did he have insurance etc. Would it be worth getting seriously hurt or maybe killed for, or just give them the money and and get their descriptions etc.

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That's a decision that would have to be made instantly. My gut reaction would be that if someone is pointing a gun at me then my life would be in danger, and I would do everything that I could to remove the threat.

It really is a personal choice, and I don't think that there is a right or wrong answer.

Many of us have invested heavily in arms and training, but you just don't know what you would do, until it happens. Hopefully I never will.

Wow, lucky guy. Glad to hear he is still with us.

Hope there will never be a next time, but it sounds like he did well.

Its easy to sit behind a keyboard and criticize some one about some thing we have never been involved in(or may never be invovled in).

One thing we all know is...when the gun shots start ringing out its real. Adrenaline starts going and you just act. You can never know 100% how it will go down or how you will react.

too bad he didnt get both the dirt bags. Hope the police will so no one else will be put in harms way.

The judge can prevent a jury from considering whether a defendant's actions in a homicide (or less destructive use of deadly force) were justified (or excusable, if you prefer) as an action of self defense, and if he or she does so, the jury is prohibited from finding that the homicide was justified by that reason. The question that the jury must then answer is whether they find beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the act.

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I would say if the judge prevents the jury from doing their job, then their only proper response is to acquit, no matter the facts of the case.

Never forget that juries are one of the few protections a citizen has against a tyrannical or abusive state. Those abuses can come from unconstitutional law, over-aggressive law enforcement, or from courtroom judges who suppress evidence or give unwarranted or illegal orders to juries.

As a juror, you have more power than the Supreme Court. So you can safely ignore any blather from the bench. Do not let them narrow the path. Judge the case in totality, starting with - is the law Constitutional? Is the law fair? Was it applied fairly in this case? Is the law applied differently to different classes of people? Was the accused subjected to excessive violence or other unwarranted abuses?

It's up to you to see that justice is done, and you get to decide what is just. If you don't think "sting" operations should be legal, acquit. If you don't think "no-knock warrants" should be legal, acquit. If you don't think DUI checkpoints should be legal, acquit. It's pretty simple.

There is a proud American tradition of jury nullification. It was used to abolish fugitive slave laws, and alcohol prohibition. It's been used in civil rights cases and modern drug cases. 3%-4% of jury trials involve nullification. Please have the courage to vote your conscience.

I'm glad everything worked out as well as it did for Rick. Every post here has made a point with varying degrees of validity. From my perspective, if shots have been traded and the perp is still shooting while retreating, the adrenaline and fight/flight reflex is probably going to be darn near impossible to control by carefully reasoned and fully analytical thought processes; training and adrenaline will rule your actions. His "pursuit" of the perp out the door could be construed as a protective reflex helping to insure the safety of others in the store. I'm glad he was safe; he needs to go to church on Sunday and buy a lottery ticket, because after having one graze him he either needs to thank God for saving him or try to extrapolate his luck into a small fortune. I'd recommend both.

many years ago found intruder just inside the door. Had a 38 in my hand, Fellow said "ooops wrong house" always thought i made the correct decision not blasting away. Had i shot the sucker would have been to much dang paper work . Bad guy left, all was well.

Reading the event, gets my vote for a shotgun rather than a handgun. I keep 20 gayge loaded with 8 rounds near my bed.

Yeah, it seems to me that in this story the robbers had no intentions to stop shooting, nor did they indicate they were going to stop. So, like we train for.... shoot until the threat goes away. In this case, the threat drove away...

What I learned from Rick's shoot-out:

1.) don't hesitate when people are trying to kill you.

2.) don't miss

3.) don't follow them around corners and nearly take a bullet to the cabeza.

4.) survive just like rick did