First, whether or not it’s a justified shooting may not always be clear. Evidence may be equivocal; witnesses, if any, may tell conflicting stories; there are many things that could cause a DA or plaintiff lawyer to think he could make a case. If the powers that be agree that the use of lethal force was justified, everything will be fine; and everyone can go home.
But if you find yourself on trial, someone in authority did not think it was a justified shoot. And this is where the details can get sticky. It may well become your burden to prove by a preponderance of the evidence the factors that permit you to use lethal force in self defense, i. e. that you were reasonably in fear of being killed or grievously injured. This can place your perception, state of mind and disposition in issue. You will probably need to tell your story about how you were in fear for your life and had no choice, and whether or not the jury believes you depends in part on the impression you make on them.
There are many factors that can affect how a jury will view you and your testimony -- factors that can help dispose the jury favorably toward you, or unfavorably toward you. Those factors can include how you dress (showing up in urban camo with your face painted is definitely a very bad idea), how you cut your hair, your tone of voice and demeanor when testifying, etc. And if you modified the gun you used in a manner that can be argued to a jury demonstrated an irresponsible or reckless character, such as by lightening the trigger considerably, such behavior may also dispose one or more members of the jury unfavorably toward you.
No one factor by itself is determinative. If you are on trial, you try to do as many things as possible to make the jury like you. The factors are cumulative, and you try to control as much as you can. One thing you can control is whether or not you've modified your gun in a way that could cause you to appear reckless or irresponsible.
So Suzy Soccermom now asks herself, as she sits on your jury deciding whether to believe your story about what happened when you shot that nice gang member, why the gun wasn’t lethal enough the way it came form the factory to satisfy you. Remember, if you’re on trial, Suzi Soccermom and her friends are going to be deciding if the shooting was justified.
Sometime I think that we all spend too much time hanging out with like minded folks -- shooters and gun hobbyists. We tend to forget how some ordinary folks see the world.
However, it's been my experience that I give some of my non-shooting acquaintances the willies. I know that they are troubled that I think and talk about some of the things we discuss on these Forums -- like shooting people and wound channels and training to fight with guns, etc. This is very troubling stuff to a whole lot of folks out there. Maybe it shouldn't be, but it is. A lot of people aren't real comfortable with us. Remember the sheep, sheepdog and wolf model. The sheep don't much like the sheepdog because he's too much like the wolf.
Ordinarily I don't care what people think of me. But when some of those people are going to be deciding if I go to jail or go home, I do begin to care. And some of those people may have doubts about whether private citizens ought to be able to have guns in the first place.
Of course the tough question is what do I do about the gun with a horrible, gritty, creepy 7 pound trigger that I have modified to a crisp 4 1/2 pounds. First of course, I probably need to do something because the gun really isn't terribly useful for its intended purpose with the lousy factory trigger. And second, if the prosecutor wants to make an issue of my having modified the gun, I guess I'd need to call (and pay) an expert witness to testify that a 4 1/2 pound trigger is not a hair trigger and is, in fact, quite reasonable.
Of course in theory that same tactic is usable when the trigger has been lightened to 2 1/2 pound. However, the defense might have trouble finding a credible expert to testify that a 2 1/2 pound trigger is reasonable on a carry gun. Also the prosecutor now calls his own expert who would testify that he never takes a trigger below 4 1/2 pounds.
None of this is simple or clear. There's lots of gray area here. In my view, we just need to play the odds well, avoid modifications as much as possible and certainly avoid anything outside the norm. And once we think that we've planned and prepared everything as well as we can, we just go about our business.
