CCW

[jamaldog87]

now i have been seeing lot of people buy guns for self defense and i have also been seeing in the news and other places that if you kill someone that what they did in the past can't be use in court. is this for real? i use my knife for self defence.

[Sir Knight]

i use my knife for self defence.

I don't understand your comment.

[PaulS]

now i have been seeing lot of people buy guns for self defense and i have also been seeing in the news and other places that if you kill someone that what they did in the past can't be use in court. is this for real? i use my knife for self defence.

I don't understand fully what you are trying to say but it is OK to use a gun to defend yourself anytime you could use tyour knife. Here in Washington State, the city can make its own rules about knives and carrying them. In the City that I live you can't carry a folding knife with a overall opened length of 6 inches or more and you can't carry any fixed blade weapon at all - EVER.
I can carry my revolver almost anywhere other than a bar, a school (except to pick up and drop off a child), the part of the city Jail where prisoners are being held and any federal building. Anywhere else in the city I can carry. Outside the city - the state laws stay the same for the gun but they might change for the knives with every city or county that you are in.

[rockbilly]

An individuals past (criminal) may be used against them in a court of law in some states. 

As for using a knife over a gun for self defense---dead is DEAD, makes no difference if a gun or knife is used.  The right to protect your self also may differ from state to state.  Here in Texas an individual has the right to use deadly force (kill) to proptect themself, their family, another person, and to protect personal property.

[Graybeard]

The original poster is a youth of some 13 to 14 years old. His command of the English language lacks a lot. More time spent on the books and less thinking up questions would definitely help. Take this into consideration in responding. This really is an area in which even as a FL resident he isn't yet old enough to get involved.

[jamaldog87]

well i was trying to say was that in a lot of state that if you shot and kill someone that what they did in the past can't be use to say why you shot them. like if someone had kill someone in the past when they were robing the that can't be use. i also saw something about it in a cop mag that at the store. i carry a knife because it has more than one use and if i kill some in self defense the could not say "this man got that gun to kill someone and he is a cold blooded killer" but they could said that to for the knife too. Here in Fl any knige that folds can be carry by any one 12 or older.

[PaulS]

jamaldog87,

The law says that you can't introduce anything from the past  -  anything that happened before the incident that is being tried.
If a bad guy takes a shot at you and you return fire and kill him then its self defense he shot first. If a guy is robbing you and you shoot him you are probably justified in using a firearm in that case. The robbery report is admissable in your trial. The law is different in different states but if it goes to trial you can always bring up the reasons that you felt threatened. They can only exclude things like he shot and killed a guy last week or that he has a rap sheet eighteen pages long. That kind of past information can only be used by the judge at the sentencing if he is found guilty. Does that make sense to you?

[jamaldog87]

yes it does. that what i was reading in that gun mag at walmart the other day.

[sniperVLS]

Did anyone ready what Graybeard posted? Just incase some missed it...

The original poster is a youth of some 13 to 14 years old. His command of the English language lacks a lot. More time spent on the books and less thinking up questions would definitely help. Take this into consideration in responding. This really is an area in which even as a FL resident he isn't yet old enough to get involved.

[PaulS]

I saw what GB posted, that's why I rewrote my answer.
I think I figured out what he was asking and I think I answered in a way that he could understand.

[DWTim]

Looks to me like he's talking about using deadly force for revenge. That's exactly the type of thing that the justice system wants to prevent.

I don't know about Florida, but that's covered here in Connecticut. You can't use some perp's past history as an excuse for immediately using deadly force during an encounter. If you've got a restraining order, and the perp has a history of violent behavior, well, that's something for your attorney to bring up in an attempt to color the incident for the jury. But Connecticut is very clear on the matter: You can use deadly force only when you are certain that your life is in danger.

[williamlayton]

----I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY--
However, regardless of your age, I think this is a fair question.
Past convictions are, generally, not on trial, Such is the rulings of most state supreme and our US Supreme courts.
Such information must be pertinent to the situation being judged.
There is good reason for this too be so. A person can be a really bad person, have been in prison at a time prior to the event, but be completly legal in his own self-defense in this situation. To bring up prior convictions and to put his past up for judgement could unduely effect the jury--in effect putting those things already judged up for re-judgement.
This is hotly argued, and in some instances I think past actions should be considered for the present, but not so, as decreed by the courts, well, er, most of the time.
Blessings

[Old Griz]

I have no problem with his question, only that he appears to be sleeping through his English classes.

[Dee]

Although I have never had a deadly encounter off duty (been retired 12 years) it never occured to me wheather they (the court system) would use anyone's past criminal record in court if I killed them. The fact of the matter is that if he is doing something to myself or a family member OR to anyone in my presence that would justifiy deadly force, I don't care what his past criminal history is. He certainly isn't going to be testifying anyway  Most of these situations are delt with in Grand Jury and don't go to criminal court unless you are in California, Illinois, or New York.