I disagree - a warning shot (in a safe direction) ....
You'd find yourself on the stand defining 'safe direction'..
I'm personally aware of a little libby twerp female lawyer who would not only grill you on that, but demonstrate - by her questioning - that there IS no 'safe direction'...
Nonsense. It's up to the prosecution to demonstrate to the satisfaction of a jury that the defendant didn't fire in a safe direction. Absent such proof, the jury will be instructed to conclude that the direction was safe. The defendant isn't required to say word one about a safe direction.
Au Contrere, my friend.. Our gun range was shut down three years ago due to the plaintiff's argument that ANY shot, fired in ANY direction, is inherently unsafe..
First off, that doesn't contradict what I said regarding burden of proof. Secondly, you're referring to a civil case, which is different in that a mere preponderance of the evidence is sufficient for a plaintiff to prevail, while in a criminal case the standard is beyond a reasonable doubt. The latter is a much harder burden on the "plaintiff," i.e., the prosecution.
