» Entries tagged with "justification"
For Your Protection
I spent some of my afternoon yesterday in traffic court. The criminal counts in a client’s case had been dismissed by the prosecutor, but the civil count remained. The court set it for a civil traffic hearing regarding my client’s alleged violation of A.R.S. 28-964(A). He was charged with riding a motorcycle in Mesa in September while wearing a helmet with the visor up. I’m not so sure that’s illegal. I pulled up to Mesa’s nice new courthouse and parked in their nice new parking garage. When I walked up and opened the heavy metal and glass door, it felt expensive. Inside, I took off my belt and put it in a tray along with everything in my pockets. A few chubby security guards … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona Statutes, Bikers' Rights, Courts, Police
Self-Defense, Depublication, and Uncertainty
In Arizona, felons who haven’t had their rights restored can’t possess firearms. It’s a class 4 felony, and because alleged offenders are obviously likely to have at least one historical prior felony conviction, defendants charged with misconduct involving weapons under the prohibited possessor subsection usually face a pretty significant mandatory prison term. What if they possess the firearm in self-defense though? The self-defense statute justifies “threatening or using physical force against another.” It doesn’t necessarily justify possessing a firearm if you’re a prohibited possessor. Another statute justifies the defensive display of a firearm, again not specifically allowing a prohibited possessor to possess a firearm, and the statute governing the use of force in defense of a residential structure or occupied vehicle and the statute governing the use … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona Cases, Arizona Statutes, Procedural Rules
Arizona DUI Stupidity
Imagine you’re sitting in the comfort of your own home, enjoying a glass of fine single barrel Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. It’s about midnight, and you’re on your third or fourth when you hear the back window of your home shatter. You can hear that someone is trying to break into the house, and you run to call 911. As you frantically rush through the house, you see someone breaking in through the front window as well. You have no time to think, and not knowing what else to do, you swing open the door leading to your garage and jump in your car. You lock your doors, fire up the engine, open the automatic garage door, and speed off while calling the police. Congratulations, you … Read entire article »
Filed under: Arizona Cases, Arizona Statutes, DUI
Photo Radar
I regularly receive calls from people who want to fight their photo radar tickets. They are generally furious about the situation, calling the cameras “the devil’s work,” “big brother watching us,” and other far more colorful things I won’t mention here. Although people caught by the cameras hate them, I’ve found that most people I meet think the cameras are great. If you’ve read this blog much, I’m sure you can guess what I think. A lot of people justify photo radar because they think it will prevent speeding and free up law enforcement personnel to deal with more serious offenses. In general, I doubt photo radar will really do what its proponents claim, but I’d rather save that argument for a later post. Honestly, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Government Rants
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