The Andrew Branca Show

Yesterday the internet fed my email a whole series of e-articles written by various (purportedly human) authors on the topic of Stand-Your-Ground law in different states.  The legal accuracy of these articles ranged from OK to just wrong.  It then occurred to me that all these suddenly produced articles on the same topic and of similar degrees of bad legal takes might well be the product of the us...

Father and son farmers in South Carolina have been charged with murder after they killed an armed trespasser who they say was threatening their land and livestock. In today's show we'll consider the question whether it's lawful to kill a simple trespasser, in the context of the news report on this event, as well as the police incident report and the arrest warrants. Learn the Self-D...

Today's Law of Self Defense Show answers questions sent into us by our Platinum Members, who have access to a Platinum-only Q&A form for submitting such questions directly to me. Answered during today's show are the following questions (with time stamps): When can I use force to prevent theft of another person’s property? If I only carry my gun when going to dangerous places, can tha...

Alivia Schwab, a 40-year-old mother of three, was under the care of mental health counselors for serious mental issues, and had only recently been returned to her apartment from institutionalization. On September 29, Schwab had her counselor on the phone, and was threatening to kill herself with a knife. The counselor notified the police so they could intervene. Morris IL police officers Nick Pamp...

A question that comes up with some regularity is what are the legal consequences if a round fired in self-defense unintentionally kills an innocent bystander. Is the defender guilty of murder of that bystander? Of manslaughter? Is there any legal liability at all? And, whatever the answer--why? What's the underlying legal doctrine? I've addressed this question many times, but last week a...

An apparently crazy woman apparently attempted to burn down the birth home of Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta. Fortunately, two tourists from Utah saw what was happening and intervneed to stop her. Next, two off-duty police from New York City made a citizen's arrest and held her for Atlanta police. This is, of course, exactly what society should want these citizens to do. But was ANY of it...

Today I read through a recent #NRA magazine article by Sheriff Jim Wilson--whose work I much enjoy, including this piece I'll be treating with some modest criticism.  Sheriff Wilson has much good advice and accurate observations in this article, but nevertheless falls prey to perhaps the most common failing in otherwise well-informed people when it comes to the legal use of force--the conflat...

Back on April 2 of this year DoorDash delivery guy Alan Colie found himself confronted in a shopping mall food court by two aggressive pranksters, the leader of whom was one Tanner Cook. Colie would ultimately shoot Cook once, causing serious but not fatal injuries. Colie would be charged with malicious wounding, firing of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and and discharging a firearm in a...

APOLOGIES FOR THE POOR AUDIO QUALITY! One of our Law of Self Defense Platinum Members, who I'll identify as Rich, reached out to us recently to ask about an apparent contradiction in the home defense law of his state. (Platinum Members have a special Q&A form that allows them to submit questions directly to me, to be answered either privately or publicly--learn how to become a Platinu...

This past Monday morning 20-year-old George Obregon Jr. approached rapper Nardo Wick after Wick's performance at a Tampa night club, for the purpose of asking if he could take a photo with the rapper. The encounter was captured on video. As he approached, Obregon was viciously punched by a large man standing beside the rapper, and appeared to suffer an immediate brain injury.  Obgregon was th...

A 14-year-old student was attacked by an unarmed mob in a Raleigh NC high school, and defended himself with a knife he carried in violation of school policies. The result: one of his attackers was killed, and another seriously injured. We've got the attack captured on video, and will break down the legal dynamics in today's Law of Self Defense Show, answering such questions as: What can...

Today's Law of Self Defense Show focuses on video of a convenience store armed robbery in which both the clerk and customer being robbed appear completely compliant with the robbers' demands. Despite this compliance, the customer is shot through the head, and the clerk is gunned down as well, both with apparent fatal results. This video is an abject lesson that compliance cannot guarante...

Today’s show focuses on the question of when is a defender legally permitted to shoot first, and we’ll explore that question with several shootings captured on video. Fair warning—each of these videos shows people being shot, sometimes with apparently fatal results. If that makes you uncomfortable, no shame, but this might not be the show for you. I should also point out that we don’t have all the...

Today’s show covers two men who used guns in defense of either themselves or others, only to find themselves promptly and firmly punished by the legal system that routinely allows criminals to walk free. Ironically, both men are from New York City, though the events took place on opposite sides of the nation. The first of these is Vince Ricci, a retired New Yorker who now lives in Los Angeles. At...

On November 1, high school student Jonathan Lewis Jr., protesting that a smaller student had been robbed and dumped into a trash can, was beaten unconscious by a pack of 8 or more other students. Jonathan would die of his blunt force trauma after six days on life support.​ The core question of today's show:  WHEN does a disparity of numbers between attackers and a defender justify the use of...

It's rare but very pleasant to come across a solid use-of-force legal analysis by another lawyer, so I was pleased to see exactly that happen with the account @JaimePretellEsq with respect to a use-of-force event that occurred recently in Florida. In this event, two white men beside an SUV appear to be mocking a black man outside a strip mall, and the black man ultimately presents a gun and s...

A car wash clerk in Concord CA find himself the victim of a felony robbery carried out by a masked woman wielding a large knife, at various points holding the point of the knife within inches of the clerk's neck. The robbery was captured on video, which we'll share with all of you today. The clerk is entirely compliant with the robbery, and makes no effort to either resist or defend hims...

Last Thursday, on November 9, Ralph Bouzy ambushed several police officers, using his speeding car as a deadly weapon to cause several of the officers critical injuries--at last report there was a good chance one officer would lose a leg.  Bouzy then exited his crashed car, and advanced on the officers, including one officer seriously injured in the intentional ramming attack. Not that it should m...

This past Sunday, November 12, US Secret Service agents assigned to the protection of Naomi Biden, the granddaughter of President Joe Biden, observed several people breaking into their parked and unoccupied SUV in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington DC. Their response was to discharge a firearm--apparently in the absence of any legal justification for the use of deadly defensive force. Can w...

Last week I stopped at CCW Safe HQ in Oklahoma City, and had an extensive chat with Stan Campbell, COO, and Don West, National Trial Counsel. I had a great time talking with those two great guys with key strategic roles at that great organization, and I hope you enjoy it as well! Learn the Self-Defense Law you NEED to BE HARD TO CONVICT, for FREE! Grab your own copy of our best-selling guide to se...

Right now, this very week in Wisconsin a man named Michael Mattioli is being tried for murder of Joel Acevedo on the grounds that Acevedo died as a result of the choke hold placed by Mattioli. The defendant claims he applied the chokehold for the sole purpose of self-defense, and only to the extent necessary for self-defense—and yet he could end up convicted of murder and spend the rest of his lif...

I recently came across video of a violent interaction between a uniformed police officer making a traffic stop and the driver of the stopped vehicle. The encounter went poorly for the officer. Of particular note was the remarkably high level of both gun handling and aggression on the part of the stopped driver, who aggressively engaged the officer with gun fire and even pursued the officer while c...

Most people think of Brazilian Jui-Jitsu (BJJ) as a non-deadly means of self-defense, and imagine using such skills to defend against a non-deadly force attack. There are, however, many techniques in BJJ that readily qualify as deadly force--because the definition of "deadly force" include not only force that can kill but also force that causes serious bodily injury.   The many joint loc...

You're ambushed by a deadly criminal predator--fortunately, you manage to instantly inflict a mortal injury on him. Can you continue to use deadly defensive force even though you've effectively already killed your attacker? Today's show addresses this important questions--and does so in a way that also documents your knowledge so that it can be shared with a jury if you're ever...

A street performer "statue" attired in the style of Teddy Roosevelt eventually got enough pestering from an apparently intoxicated pedestrian that he threw a granite-like right fist into the pedestrian's face. Fortunately for us, the event was captured on video! Lawful self-defense? Learn the Self-Defense Law you NEED to BE HARD TO CONVICT, for FREE! Grab your own copy of our best-s...