Including ... Featured Articles • President's Messages • Attorney Questions of the Month • Book Reviews
Featured
Understanding Defensive Display of Firearms. An Interview with Massad Ayoob. Resolving conflicting messages that armed citizens get about drawing firearms before shooting. (Dec 2014)
Member Education: New Ayoob Book is 2014 Member Education Item. Network members reading this new book will be even quicker to avoid situations that might lead to a fight. (Nov 2014)
Lessons from Newhall by Mike Wood. As a follow-up to his book review in the October 2014 newsletter, author Mike Wood analyzes the lessons from Newhall to armed citizens. (Nov 2014)
Surviving Aggressive Cross-Examination. An Interview with Emanuel Kapelsohn. Network Advisory Board Member Emanuel Kapelsohn recalls dealing with an attorney's attempt to discredit him. (Oct 2014)
The Disparity of Force Defense. An Interview with Masaad Ayoob. Members often ask questions about defending decisions to use a gun to prevent injury at the hands of a younger, stronger person - even if that attacker is unarmed. In this vein, Ayoob talks about the doctrine of disparity of force when using self defense. (Sep 2014)
Tactics Against Active Shooters. Strategies from the Tactical Professor, Claude Werner. Discussion of better tactics to survive an active shooter attack. (Aug 2014)
Plea Bargaining: When, Why and Why Not. An Interview with Attorney Kevin E.J. Regan. When self defense is no longer clear cut, the attorney's job of defending you changes. (Jul 2014)
Network Legal Defense Fund Track Record. A report for members detailing the post-incident support we've provided for members. (Jun 2014)
Cost of Legal Team: The factors that go into estimating the cost of a legal defense. (Jun 2014)
Firearms Training: Then and Now. An Interview with John Farnam. Farnam discusses how training has changed since he started out in the 1970's. (May 2014)
Meet Your Legal Defense Team. Surprising information about who your legal defense team really is. (Apr 2014)
Lesson from State of FL vs. Michael David Dunn. Florida Network Affiliated Attorney Steve Harris talks about the case in which a man shot into a car of teenagers. (Mar 2014)
July Selection: Body Language in the Courtroom - Part 2. "...The prospective jurors will be watching you and sizing you up according to their standards of acceptability." (Feb 2014)
Jury Selection. Dr. Wendy Saxon helps members understand jury selection and related issues that bear on the successful defense of self-defense actions.(Jan 2014)
President's Message
President's Message: The latest unconstitutional gun law passed in Washington state. Network Member Case #9. Network Member Case #10. Why We Are Different. About Ferguson, MO. (Dec 2014)
President's Message: Hunting Camp. (Nov 2014)
President's Message: Network v. The World; Comments About the Survey. Court Proofing Self Defense at 2015 RangeMaster Tactical Conference. Michael Bloomberg, et al. v. Washington State Gun Owners. (Oct 2014)
President's Message: The Network v. The World! Are you a nice guy or gal? Not an Attorney Referral Service. Following the Shaneen Allen Incident? No Guns Allowed...Seriously? Lawyers for Gun Control. Self Defense Bar Association? Thoughts about Ferguson, MO. (Sep 2014)
President's Message: Speaking on "Shootin' From the Hip" radio show. Network members attend training. (Aug 2014)
President's Message: Responses to June's discussion of mental health and guns. Open Carry Comments. (Jul 2014)
President's Message: Open Carry. Mental Health Reporting and Guns. You Can't Make This Stuff Up! (Jun 2014)
President's Message: Helping Dennis Tueller's son. A Girl and A Gun Conference. Member request for more information on how much money it would cost to field a legal defense team. Puffery in Advertising. (May 2014)
President's Message: A Girl and A Gun Women's Shooting League. New Book on Self Defense Due Soon. Lead Article's Backstory. (Apr 2014)
President's Message: Good News, Bad News. More Good News (and No Bad News). The Best Defense Renewed for 7th Season. Police Discounts?A Couple of Podcasts. (Mar 2014)
President's Message: It's a Matter of Trust. Report from SHOT Show, 2014. Glock Nails It. The Guns and Ammo of the Network. Educational Foundation Concerns. Marty has Jury Duty! (Feb 2014)
President's Message: Angry callers. Back on The Best Defense TV. I Feel Complimented. A Word About the Foundation. The State of the Network. Legal Defense Fund. Network Affiliated Attorneys. Educational Materials. Human Resources. (Jan 2014)
Attorney Question
Attorney Question of the Month: It has been said that insurance invites lawsuits. Do you believe this is true? Have you any direct experience showing whether or not those with insurance are more likely to be sued for damages? (Dec 2014 - Part 3) (Nov 2014 - Part 2) (Oct 2014 - Part 1)
Attorney Question of the Month: If a member is involved in a self-defense shooting and is arrested, what should he or she have done in advance to provide access to funds for bond if no family is available to assist? How does the state in which you practice handle bail for murder? For aggravated assault? (Sep 2014)
Attorney Question of the Month: If a defender has been drinking lightly and he/she is involved in a self-defense shooting, would you advise the person to ask to take a Breathalyzer to prove they are not legally intoxicated? (Aug 2014 - Part 2) (Jul 2014 - Part 1)
Attorney Question of the Month: If the federal law enforcement agents had not backed off, but instead had insisted on enforcing the details of the ostensibly lawful order of the court to seize the Bundy cattle grazing on BLM land, what would the legal position of these armed citizens have been if a bloodbath had ensued?(Jun 2014)
Attorney Question of the Month: In your career as a defense attorney, how often have you seen prosecutors engage in misconduct in order to gain an unfair conviction? How often do the judges either look the other way or assist the prosecution? What is the penalty for either of the above? (May 2014 - Part 2) (Apr 2014 - Part 1)
Attorney Question of the Month: Have you ever hired an expert for a self-defense case, and what did you need him or her to do? How did you find the expert and how much did their servies cost? Was the expert allowed to testify? If not, why not? (Mar 2014)
Attorney Question of the Month: Does your state have a "standard" jury instruction for the use of defensive deadly force? Is it considered state-friendly or defendant-friendly? Can a defendant in your state get a jury instruction regarding self defense in lieu or in addition to the standard instruction? (Feb 2014)
Attorney Question of the Month: Would you allow a client who used deadly force in self defense to be administered a polygraph, voice stress analysis, hypnosis, eye examination, blood analysis and/or psychiatric evaluation. When and why? Would you allow the client to perform a test of shooting or weapon manipulation skills? Are the results of such evaluations presesnted to the grand jury or admissible at trial in your jurisdiction? Do prosecutors use them in making charging decisions? If you do this kind of testing on your own are the results discoverable by the state in a criminal case? In a civil liability trial? (Jan 2014 - Part 2) (Dec 2013 - Part 1)
Book/DVD Reviews
Book Review: Prepper's Home Defense: Security Strategies to Protect Your Family by Any Means Necessary by Jim Cobb. Recommendations for protecting one's property during an emergency as well as defending essential supplies. (Dec 2014)
Book Review: Newhall Shooting. A Tactical Analysis by Mike Wood. What can be learned from a crime that took place over forty years ago? Although the deaths at Newhall were thoroughly investigated in 1970, Wood believes 40 years of survival tactics development clarifies why the officers were overwhelmed. (Oct 2014)
Book Review: In the Name of Self-Defense: What It costs, When It's Worth It by Marc MacYoung. MacYoung calls on the reader to honestly analyze his or her emotional response to threats. (Sep 2014)
Book Review: That Every Man Be Armed: The Evolution of a Constitutional Right by Stephen P. Halbrook. An fantastic updated presentation of the history of our self-defense rights. (Aug 2014)
Book Review: False Justice: Eight Myths That Convict the Innocent by Jim and Nancy Petro. Eight commonly held “truths” are identified that are anything but the truth, and cites a number of sources to show why these ideas are false. (Jul 2014)
Book Review: Black Man with a Gun: Reloaded by Kenn Blanchard. This book is not just a book to encourage gun ownership among black Americans; it reminds citizens of all races why we fight to preserve the rights elucidated in the U.S. Constitution’s second amendment. (Jun 2014)
Book Review: Jury Nullification: The Evolution of a DoctrineBook Review: Jury Nullification: The Evolution of a Doctrine by Clay S. Conrad. The massive quantity of history, the research citations, and the tales of justice and injustice enacted over three centuries, leaves the reader much from which to draw conclusions. (May 2014)
DVD Review: Make Ready with Massad Ayoob: Ayoob on Concealed CarryDVD Review: Make Ready with Massad Ayoob: Ayoob on Concealed Carry. Ayoob outlines the many duties, both legal and ethical, that accompany carrying guns for defense. Concurrently, he stresses, only the gun’s power allows the citizen to fulfill the responsibility to protect self and family in an increasingly violent society. (Apr 2014)
Book Review: Thank God I Had a Gun: True Accounts of Self-Defense, Second EditionBook Review: Thank God I Had a Gun: True Accounts of Self-Defense, Second Edition by Chris Bird. Not only does this book sound a wake up call for those who rationalize that they are not at risk, it also underscores the importance of personal responsibility for safety since the police simply cannot be present all the time to protect you. (Mar 2014)
Book Review: Peoplewatching: The Desmond Morris Guide to Body LanguageBook Review: Peoplewatching: The Desmond Morris Guide to Body Language by Desmond Morris. An older work, but since human behavior is not so much changed as to outdate 45 year old observations, this author’s ideas are still valuable. (Feb 2014)
Book Review: 'If I Had a Son.' Race, Guns and the Railroading of George ZimmermanBook Review: 'If I Had a Son.' Race, Guns and the Railroading of George Zimmerman by Jack Cashill. Media bias, racism, and politics are the focus as a controversial author reviews the case. (Jan 2014)