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Old May 4, 2012, 10:51 AM   #89
OldMarksman
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Join Date: June 8, 2008
Posts: 4,022
Quote:
Posted by Lost Sheep: In Criminal cases, to even get near the question of "Did the shooter use handloads and what does that say about his state of mind or intentions?" you have to get past the question of "Was deadly force justified or not?"
You have it completely backwards. To get to the question of "was deadly force justified or not", you have to put together all of what evidence can be produced after the fact.

Each element of the evidence will be evaluated for consistency. The defendant's testimony may be supported by the other pieces of evidence, or it may not. And indications of his state of mind or intentions are likely to play a very big part in the ultimate determination.

Regarding custom handguns, I would be a lot less concerned about their weight in determining state of mind than I would about the use of guns that may give jurors a poor impression of the the shooter--see this for a good discussion of the subject. And no, you do not need to look for actual cases--lawyers employ the results of jury simulation all the time, and you can rely on it.

On the other had, if you have disabled a safety (any safety) or modified the trigger, you do have to worry about challenges to your claim that your shots were not only justified but were in fact intentional. A plaintiff;s lawyer may see a pot of gold at the end of the proverbial unintentional discharge rainbow.
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