Originally Posted by
Hissho
Not an attorney so this is not legal advice, just my experience within the system....
When the threat stops, you need to stop trying to maim/kill him.
I am an attorney (mostly criminal defense), but this is still not legal advice.
Having said that, from a defense attorney's perspective my main concern with something like the ryufundo would be that, based on the weapon itself and on the descriptions Ellis has given of its use, it seems like a weapon you would use for a series of attacks. If I'm trying to use self-defense to justify my client's actions, what I would rather not see is repeated blows. Each time you hit the bad guy it raises a question of why the last hit wasn't sufficient. The first blow broke his hand? Well, why the heck did you need that second blow to the shoulder and the third blow to the temple and that nasty shot to the ribs after that? Wasn't there a point at which you could have disengaged? And after that point, isn't it really a matter of you attacking him rather than him attacking you?
Now, that's not an insurmountable problem. In the Rodney King case, if I remember correctly, the defense did a masterful job of showing how each and every blow delivered by the officers was in response to something that they could have seen as a continued threat. Still, all things being equal, I think I'd rather have to defend one hit that did a lot of damage rather than a bunch of hits that did a lot of damage (assuming that I could make the case that there was ample justification to be doing damage in the first place). Of course, if you're around to argue with a defense attorney after the fact then at least you survived, which I'll take over the alternative no matter how many blows it takes.
I think that Kit is also absolutely correct to identify the question of whether or not the state would even bother to bring charges. If Taxpaying Citizen with Spotless Record beats the everlivin' crap out of Repeat Offender That Police Really Wish Would Die Already, he could face a whole range of charges: insufficient assault, assault without a sufficiently deadly weapon, misdemeanor damage to occupied clothing, etc.
David Sims
"Cuius testiculos habes, habeas cardia et cerebellum." - Terry Pratchet
My opinion is, in all likelihood, worth exactly what you are paying for it.