Single mom empties magazine at suspect trying to steal her car.

[Longitude Zero]

No, not really. The elements of entrapment are much more strict than that. It's a defense which almost never works, anyway. One thing which bothers me about it is that I doubt her insurance company will even cover her self-inflicted damage to the vehicle.

In drug cases it works more than most have a clue about, especially in small jurisdictions that are big on asset seizure. The media rarely covers it. Seen it many times. I should have used the word enticement instead. The reports read like she "waited up" for the thief's return. Her damage to her vehicle is classified as an "intentional tort." And she deserves NO compensation for intentionally damaging her property. While I understand her reaction she is and was not helpful to the cause of JUSTIFIABLE use of a firearm.

[Earle]

Well, around here, it almost never flies and it rarely does on the federal level, either, or the government wouldn't be winning these cases against the wannabe "terrorists." In any event, AFAIK, the defense has to prove that the defendant wouldn't have committed a crime without inducement. This guy returned to the scene of a former crime - with a key - to commit a separate offense. That basically just tosses entrapment out the window. However, I agree that she'll most likely have to repair her own car and what she did was stupid and appeared to have been done in anger...

[DavidS]

Your car is being stolen from your driveway.
Your life is not being threatened so you cannot shoot.
If you call 911, your call will be gone before they arrive.
How then do you protect your property?

[Bawanna]

Sadly you don't. This began with the invention of lawyers and the demise of common sense.

In the good ole days you could hang somebody for stealing your horse. They had it right in the good ole days.

[Earle]

Bawanna is correct. In the interest of full disclosure, I am an attorney. This is not my area - I have law degrees from both Alabama and NYU - and I'm really a business/taxation/estate and trust type. However, most lawyers keep up with issues in this area, particularly those of us interested in firearms. The "stand your ground" statutes, which many states have now passed, didn't really change anything in the defense of personal property area. It still has to revolve around personal safety, not defense of property. Many jurisdictions have expanded to your personal vehicle the area you're allowed to defend, but this incident falls far from that. She wasn't in the car - he was. I agree with all the remarks above that this actually hurts our cause...

[knkali]

Bawanna is correct. In the interest of full disclosure, I am an attorney. This is not my area - I have law degrees from both Alabama and NYU - and I'm really a business/taxation/estate and trust type. However, most lawyers keep up with issues in this area, particularly those of us interested in firearms. The "stand your ground" statutes, which many states have now passed, didn't really change anything in the defense of personal property area. It still has to revolve around personal safety, not defense of property. Many jurisdictions have expanded to your personal vehicle the area you're allowed to defend, but this incident falls far from that. She wasn't in the car - he was. I agree with all the remarks above that this actually hurts our cause...

Earl, I hope you hang around a lot here. We need a legal perspective many times in conversations on this forum. There is a lot of anti lawyer sentiment here, but I always laugh at that because when stuff goes south, the cry of "lawyer up" always seems to be mentioned.

[Bawanna]

You'll never hear that cry from me ever.

But I agree that legal perspective is sometimes fun to hear. I know O'Dell knows I love him even though he used to practice law. The law and common sense used to be on the same page. Then the money thing entered the picture. Sad day for sure.

I'm sure the legal trade is like contractors, there are many good ones and then the rest of the money grubbing ambulance chasing rabble rousers that deserve to crawl around on the ground with snakes.

[Earle]

Earl, I hope you hang around a lot here. We need a legal perspective many times in conversations on this forum. There is a lot of anti lawyer sentiment here, but I always laugh at that because when stuff goes south, the cry of "lawyer up" always seems to be mentioned.

Thanks. Usually the lynch syndrome goes away when folks find out what kind of practice I have...

[Longitude Zero]

Bawanna is correct. In the interest of full disclosure, I am an attorney. This is not my area - I have law degrees from both Alabama and NYU - and I'm really a business/taxation/estate and trust type. However, most lawyers keep up with issues in this area, particularly those of us interested in firearms. The "stand your ground" statutes, which many states have now passed, didn't really change anything in the defense of personal property area. It still has to revolve around personal safety, not defense of property. Many jurisdictions have expanded to your personal vehicle the area you're allowed to defend, but this incident falls far from that. She wasn't in the car - he was. I agree with all the remarks above that this actually hurts our cause...

Agree with knkali. The anti-criminal attorney is as you know prevalent. Kinda like the bad rep used car salesman have.

[Earle]

You'll never hear that cry from me ever.

But I agree that legal perspective is sometimes fun to hear. I know O'Dell knows I love him even though he used to practice law. The law and common sense used to be on the same page. Then the money thing entered the picture. Sad day for sure.

I'm sure the legal trade is like contractors, there are many good ones and then the rest of the money grubbing ambulance chasing rabble rousers that deserve to crawl around on the ground with snakes.

I know a great number of lawyers agree with me that the SCOTUS decision which permitted advertising by lawyers (and drug companies), as covered by the 1st Amendment, was a disaster. Here in Huntsville, AL, there's a youngster with about four years experience and a very small staff who has spent millions (I mean that, literally) on TV advertising. If you'll notice, about 90% of the ads are for PI-type lawyers. The remaining 10% or so (in most areas) are by SSDI lawyers. I never saw a lawyer yet advertising for will or trust work. The economics don't make sense...