In Minnesota, prosecutors charge lawful weapon carriers with Felony Assault 2. And Minnesota’s Second Degree Assault crime statute allows a felony charge for assault, even with no bodily harm at all, if the defendant used a weapon. Moreover, Prosecutors enjoy implying something nefarious about that archaic word, “brandishing.” Forewarned is forearmed As a result, every… Read More »Brandishing, Assault & Self-Defense: Legal Readiness
Do you think little or a lot about self-defense? Either way, you’ll live a better life when you consider self-defense from two perspectives: the practical and the legal. The different schools of self-defense training agree on many things. Similarly, the law of self-defense agrees in many ways across jurisdictions, cultures, even history. And though practical self-defense… Read More »Escalation, Dominance, Deception in Self-defense
Self-defense and The Other: Self-defense is a legal defense to certain criminal charges in Minnesota. A defendant can plead self-defense when facing charges of: assault, murder, and disorderly conduct, among others. It is not a bright-line sort of law. If it were, the law would be easier to apply; but justice and fairness would suffer. Instead, the… Read More »Self-defense and The Other
The use of force in self-defense is a defense to many criminal charges, from felony to misdemeanor level. But when it comes to self-defense law, courts look to the totality of circumstances. There is no bright line test. But one important factor is disparity of force. Yes, disparity of force means what it sounds like. … Read More »Disparity of Force and Self-Defense