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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

  • work Practice Area

    Personal Injury and Med Mal

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Wednesday, January 25, 2023

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$197.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE webinar will guide counsel through an in-depth look at the law of self defense and the values that underpin it. The program will offer strategies, tips, and guides for representing clients that have utilized force. The panelist will review self defense laws and their elements, the use of deadly vs. nondeadly force, when the use of force is reasonable, provocateurs and initial aggressors, and more.

Faculty

Sarah Gervase
Assistant General Counsel
National Rifle Association of America

Ms. Gervase has been Assistant General Counsel at the National Rifle Association since 2006. She advises the NRA and NRA Foundation in a variety of fields, including security, law enforcement issues, trusts and estates, and contracts. Ms. Gervase also drafted the women‘s amicus briefs on behalf of women state legislators in the D.C. v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago U.S. Supreme Court cases. Justice Alito cited and quoted her brief in the McDonald plurality opinion. Ms. Gervase also drafted an amicus brief on behalf of Italian-American jurists and attorneys in the NYSRPA v. Bruen case now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Description

Throughout time and across cultures, the right of self defense has been universally recognized in some form or another. High profile cases in the last decade have highlighted these issues and the values that underpin them.

Even if criminal charges are not brought or are defeated, the person using force may have to defend against civil suits from the injured party or their families, often re-litigating the same issues. Self-defense is a complicated area of law that is made more so by duty to retreat/stand your ground statutes and similar laws. Counsel ignores this area of law at their peril.

Listen as Sarah Gervase, Assistant General Counsel at National Rifle Association of America, takes attendees through an in-depth look at the law of self defense and its underpinnings, and then offers guidelines and tips for representing clients that have utilized force.

Outline

  1. Values underlying self defense
  2. Elements of self defense
    1. Common law
    2. Statute
  3. Limitations on self defense
  4. Stand your ground statutes
  5. Burdens of proof
  6. Insurance

Benefits

The panelist will review these and other key issues:

  • What are the most common errors and beliefs about self defense?
  • What level of force can be used to defend against destruction of property?
  • How does the "castle doctrine" operate in real life?
  • Which party has the burden of proof to prove or disprove self defense?