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The Law of Self Defense, 3rd Edition Kindle Edition

by Andrew Branca (Author), Massad Ayoob (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 1,439 ratings
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The world is a dangerous place. That's why you're prepared to protect yourself and your loved ones. Now arm yourself for the legal battle that happens after an attack. The first fight is for your life – the second for your liberty.
FREE BONUS: Download our FREE REPORT "Top 10 Self-Defense Legal Blunders" (lawofselfdefense.com/freereport)
FREE VIDEO BONUS: Watch the weekly "Law of Self Defense LIVE Show" every Wednesday, 2PM Eastern (lawofselfdefense.com/show)

Andrew F. Branca, the renowned expert in self-defense law, teaches you how to make quick, effective, legally appropriate decisions in life-and-death situations. His easy-to-understand analysis thoroughly covers the laws of all fifty states. Key legal principles are illustrated with interesting, sometimes heart-wrenching, true life examples of people defending themselves, and how their decisions helped, hurt, or even destroyed their case.

This thoroughly updated third edition includes an all new chapter on interacting with the police, including what to say (or not say!) to 911, first responders, and detectives.

Don't be a victim. Stay safe from both the physical attack and the legal aftermath. This book, with a foreword by legendary use-of-force expert Massad Ayoob, will teach you the powerful legal truth that protects your life, wealth, and freedom.
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Andrew F. Branca is an attorney and the internationally recognized expert on self-defense law. Andrew consults on criminal cases nationally and teaches self-defense law to police, tactical instructors, and civilians. Andrew regularly provides legal expertise for news outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and NPR, and was a featured speaker at the 2014 NRA Annual Meeting. Andrew has shot competitively since his youth, and is a multi-division Master-class competitor in the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA). He is an NRA certified firearms instructor, and a life-long absolutist for the Second Amendment.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01F9FAJBA
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ ; 3rd edition (May 5, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 5, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4105 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 279 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 1,439 ratings

About the author

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Andrew F. Branca

Andrew F. Branca

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Andrew F. Branca is an internationally recognized expert on American self-defense law. Now in his third decade of practicing law, Andrew also nationally consults for other lawyers in high-profile self defense cases. He is a former guest instructor on self defense law at the SigSauer Academy in Epping, NH, is frequently a featured speaker at law school gun law symposia around the country, and provides legal expertise for such news outlets as the Wall Street Journal and NPR. This year Andrew will also be speaking at the 2014 NRA Annual Meeting on Stand-Your-Ground and other facets of self defense law.

Andrew began his competitive shooting activities as a youth in smallbore rifle, and has for 20 years been a Life Member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and a multi-division Master-class competitor in the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA). He has for many years been an NRA-certified firearms instructor in pistol, rifle, and personal protection, and is a a life-long absolutist for the right to carry firearms and the Second Amendment generally.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
1,439 global ratings
Right thinking leads to right action
5 Stars
Right thinking leads to right action
Plant the right thoughts in your mind now so that you can act correctly when the heat of the moment strikes. I hear many platitudes around self defense, such as being carried by twelve and judged by six. These platitudes won't help you in the legal aftermath. This book _will_ help in that aftermath. Read this book. Internalize it. Prepare every bit as diligently for the legal battle as for the physical one. Even better, keep in mind that both battles are best when avoided, which is a central theme of this book.The book contains a foreword by Masad Ayoob. This book is a wonderful compliment to Ayoob's book on Deadly Force. I read Ayoob first followed by this book, and I strongly recommend both books to anyone who is preparing for the possibility -- however remote -- of self-defense.
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Top reviews from the United States

Timberforester
5.0 out of 5 stars Great information
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2024
Verified Purchase
Definitely helpful to see the information in writing. It shows how laws differ from state to state. Hope it's never needed.
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VickyNC
5.0 out of 5 stars Self-defense 101---What you must know to prove self-dense
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2017
Verified Purchase
This is a comprehensive, understandable discussion of laws affecting individuals who present or fire a handgun in self-defense by defense attorney Andrew Branca with a foreword by Massad Ayoob.. If you must defend yourself or others in your home, car or place of business; carry concealed or open carry this book should be in your personal library and must reading----"it ain't over until it's over" and the conclusion of the incident (i.e. you and others are safe and the police have arrived after a righteous shooting) is just the beginning of what you will be subjected to under law proving that the shooting was indeed self-defense. The state-specific laws included in the book give you an opportunity to look up the laws in your state or in states you will be traveling armed as of 2016. What to say and what not to say to increase your chances of having your actions deemed self-defense.
Contents:
Chapter 1--Legal Principles and Processes
Competing Narratives
Standards of Proof
Burdens of Proof
The Criminal Justice Pipeline
The Crime Charged
The Legal Defense of Self-Defense
Chapter 2: Element 1: Innocence
How Innocence is Lost
Thresholds
Pursuit/Sustaining a Fight
Mutual Combat
Escalation
Regaining (legal) Innocence
Chapter 3: Element 2: Imminence
The AOJ (Ability, Opportunity and Jeopardy) Triad
Battered Spouse Syndrome
Chapter 4: Element 3: Proportionality
Deadly Force
Non-Deadly Force
Duration of Force
Mere Threat v. Use of Force
Chapter 5: Element 4: Avoidance
Duty to Retreat
Stand Your Ground
Chapter 6: Element 5: Reasonableness
Objective Reasonableness
Subjective Reasonableness
Presumptions of Reasonableness
Chapter 7: Defense of Others
Reasonable Perception Framework
Alter Ego Framework
The Inherent Uncertainties of Someone Else's Fight
Additional Rules to Defending Others
Chapter 8: Defense of Property
Highly Defensible Property
Least Defensible Property
When the Law Allows for Greater Force
Chapter 9: Interacting with the Police
Reporting the Incident
"Never Talk to the Police"
The Say Little Approach
Chapter 10: A Legally-Sound Defense Strategy
Avoidance
Escape/Retreat
De-Escalation
Diversified Toolbox
Cognitive Conditioning
Chapter 11: Was It Worth It?
Learn More
About Andrew Branca

And extremely important:
State-specific Legal Information/Tables:
Provocation/Aggressor Laws
Regaining Innocence Laws
When Deadly Force is Justified
Laws on Duty to Retreat, Deadly Force
Legal Presumption of Reasonableness
Justifiable Use of Force in Defense of Others
Use of Non-Deadly Force in Defense of Property
Use of Force in Defense of Property

Your life and lives of others may require you to defend yourself with lethal force and even when the actions are deemed self-defense you may face civil lawsuit by family members of the perpetrator(s)---ever thought you might need insurance coverage for firearms or that your homeowner's insurance would cover you in case of a firearms incident? Read this book and rethink your potential legal liability and/or jeopardy. This book is indispensable and I recommend it highly along with books by Massad Ayoob and the NRA.
29 people found this helpful
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John McCain
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for any law-abiding Gun carrying person.
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2024
Verified Purchase
Quick ship! Great Book with information that I hopefully never need!
A must read !
One person found this helpful
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Sean Mc
5.0 out of 5 stars Solid Overview for the Layperson
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2021
Verified Purchase
Recently purchased this book to familiarize myself with the law regarding Self-Defense. Attorney Andrew Branca does an excellent job distilling Self-Defense Law into five easy-to-remember core principles: Innocence, Imminence, Proportionality, Avoidance, and Reasonableness. He breaks down each of these legal aspects of Self-Defense Law into simple explanations that are easily understood by the common layperson, and provides several examples in case law for each principle to illustrate how following and disregarding each of the principles can help or harm your legal claim of Self-Defense. Once these aspects are explained, he also details the trial process, and provides a useful strategy for staying within the bounds of Self-Defense Law and interacting with Law Enforcement appropriately, if one ever has to make the legal claim of Self-Defense. This book is well worth your time if you have ever considered everyday or concealed carry of lethal and non-lethal means of Self-Defense. Also, Attorney Andrew Branca has a pretty informative podcast Q&A each week that discusses recent news events as they relate to Self-Defense that I find interesting and useful. Haven't signed up for full access membership to his podcast, but I would imagine it is just as useful as these two resources. I highly recommend.
3 people found this helpful
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P. Beatty
4.0 out of 5 stars Good reference
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2023
Verified Purchase
Very good read. Coupled with Mas Ayoobs books, this makes a great reference to review from time to time.
2 people found this helpful
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RF
5.0 out of 5 stars you may have killed the bad guy, and you may feel that you are ...
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2017
Verified Purchase
I will join with many of the other reviewers and say that this book is a must read for anyone who has any type of self-defense weapon on their person or in their home. After reading the book, I've come to the sober conclusion that the law doesn't seem to favor the ordinary person who is simply trying to defend themselves. In order to prevail, it would seem that each person needs to have a law degree from Harvard, and the ability to slow down time in the event of lethal force situation. This is the case because the legal system, chops up your deadly force encounter, which is measured in seconds, into an esoteric academic exercise where the actions of the parties are scrutinized at the the nano-second level. One can almost imagine a panel of ancient philosophers, psychologists, and scholars evaluating who is in the right and who is in the wrong at any given fraction of a second in the timeline of events. In our system of justice, such reflection is done by the police, the DA's office, your defense attorney, and a jury of your peers -- folks who know nothing about the law.

The author presents a very sobering view of how the legal system works for those who choose to defend themselves in a violent encounter. Yes, you may have killed the bad guy, and you may feel that you are right, but if the legal system choses to pursue your actions, you will have two outcomes; the price tag of your legal defense and your freedom, or, 20 years to life in prison. On several occasions, while reading, I thought that death or serious bodily injury might actually be a good option given the real possibility of jail for the rest of my life, a fate that might be assigned by a gun hostile jury or some real error I made in the deadly encounter.

For all of those folks with high capacity magazines, heed this warning. Every single shot you fire in self-defense will be evaualted by the DA. As the author pointed out, there was a case where a subject fired 6 shots. Three were deemed self-defense, while the last 3 were considered attempted murder. The defender was convicted on the 3 "bad" shots and got a life sentence plus 90 years. So, a magazine with 20 rounds is a joke. If you shoot 20 rounds in a self defense case, you are in for a world of trouble with the justice system.

Lastly, know your state laws. The author goes to great length to compare differences in state law for self-defense. Infact, the last third of this book, is a comprehensive digest of every state law for a meriad of serif-defense issues.

This book is a must read for all gun owners.

The purpose of this book, in my opinion, is to form a proper mental attitude for a self-defense situation. This book really makes you think about the "un-locks" you might have in order to draw a weapon and use it.
138 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Gun laws
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2024
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Great Book really lets you know your rights a a gun owner
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Geoffrey Murray
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating read
Reviewed in Canada on September 1, 2022
Verified Purchase
Very interesting. Not fully applicable to Canada but some concepts are interesting.
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