Arizona’s Firearm Possession Laws

(The content below was transcribed from an interview done with Acacia Law. We think you'll find it much easier
and more enjoyable to read this way.)

Interviewer: Do you possess a gun legally in Arizona, you there?

Acacia Law Yes.

Interviewer: Okay. If you possess a gun legally does that make you more open to being judged as the aggressor in an altercation, whether you use the gun or display it or not?

Concealed Weapons and Sense of Empowerment

Acacia Law If you don't display it and the other person does not know that you possess the weapon, then they can't feel threatened by that weapon if it's concealed. What I have found is that people who carry guns have some sort of authority or sense of empowerment or sense of strength.

Wherein, they feel they can apply this deadly force to get what they want, and that is a terrible mistake. What I have found is that people who carry guns and possess that type of attitude oftentimes wind up dead.

Reason being is that they're under the misapprehension that because they're allowed to carry a gun, that they themselves are now dangerous and they have that ability to control others and then they become more reckless.

Unfortunately, what I have encountered is that most of these people who conduct themselves in such a fashion, really don't know what it's like to be in a dangerous situation, and things fall apart rapidly.

Interviewer: I see.

Acacia Law Ask any police officer or anyone who’s been shot at, and they will tell you the same thing. You get tunnel vision. There is no officer who’s ever been engaged in a gunfight, or anyone for that matter, who has not gotten tunnel vision. What I mean by is that it is not a situation where your average civilian who is unaccustomed to that type of danger is going to react normally, or responsibly. And a lot of them wind up getting shot or killed by someone who actually does know what they’re doing.

Interviewer: I’ve actually heard from the police themselves most gunfights are like ten feet away or less and people miss.

Acacia Law They do miss from 10 feet away. They miss from 5 feet away.

Interviewer: I guess it shows the incredible stress associated with even shooting or being shot at. The whole process is just so incredibly stressful, that you said that probably time slows down, you get a massive adrenaline rush and it just completely alters your physiology.

Adrenaline Dump

Acacia Law That is correct. In fact, what’s it’s called is an adrenaline dump. What happens is that when you feel threatened in a deadly fashion your body reacts automatically. The brain pours enzymes into your body that make you shake and that make you more alert. It’s almost like a caffeine rush and people think that someone is shaking because their scared or in shock, but it’s actually the adrenaline dump.

They may not be scared at all, but the adrenaline will cause them to shake. It’s to make their body as aware as possible. What happens is that some people think they can shoot somebody up until the point they pick up a gun and point it at somebody. Then they realize what they’re going to do, and realize that they just don’t have it in them. That’s a little bit late. The other thing that happens is some people, when they’re involved in a situation like that, is that they become so fearful for their lives that they don’t focus on doing what needs to be done in order to survive.

That’s why you have shots going each and every different direction because most people are panicked, and they are shooting wildly. And if someone hits someone it’s sheer luck. I’ve had shootouts where officers have shot at one of my clients. My client had shot back at them from 10, 15 feet out and maybe 16 to 25 rounds have been fired, and nobody’s been scratched.

Interviewer: What are the situations that clients come to you with when they involve deadly weapons and dangerous offenses?

Most Dangerous Offenses Involve Guns and Knives

Acacia Law The vast majority of offenses involve guns and knives. The reason is because you can display a knife from ten feet away, and you’re not going to put someone in eminent fear. You can point a gun at someone from 50 meters, and you’ve got his or her undivided attention. So, this is why I placed the guns as the primary weapon. Because essentially, even displaying a gun is enough to cause another person to become alarmed. I’ve seen that happen many times. As long the gun is displayed, some people will completely go to pieces.

With a knife, you have to be very close to somebody to be a threat. Guns create a much more distinctive dangerousness. So, oftentimes people can be charged by simply displaying a weapon. There is always a question as to whether the gun is actually pointed at the person, but more or less my experience has been people who see a weapon displayed believe it has been pointed at them, even if it has not. And that’s good enough for the police…

Interviewer: Do you tend to have more clients who are the aggressor or the victim?

Acacia Law They say that it takes two to tango in these types of situations, and to a certain degree I believe that is true. It’s rare that I find one individual who is entirely at fault, while the other person is entirely innocent.

Deadly Weapon into Play

The reality of the situation is that violent situations actually escalate over a period of time. Even if the timeframe just a matter of seconds or minutes. So, as an attorney, what you’re trying to do is figure out who did what, and when. For example, some man punches another man in the mouth. That man comes back and hits him a couple times. Then the first one man comes back with a knife.

The man who just got hit is now bringing a deadly weapon into play. Now, if the other person is armed, he may have a justification defense. Therein again, you run into problems. There are always complications to these cases. What you’re trying to assess is was there any justification for your client to do what they did? Were they provoked to a certain degree? Was there reasonable belief that they could be seriously injured, or did they ever have the intent when they displayed the weapon of actually using it?

Who Is the Aggressor?

And would the other person reasonably believe that they would actually use it? All those things need to be assessed. Also, the sequence of events is important. In an escalating situation, the first to draw a deadly weapon is likely going to be considered the aggressor, regardless of what happened before that. However, there are exceptions to the rule.

As an example, last year I had two men who had gotten into a fight. One man left in his car and the other man followed him in his car to his home. He had no deadly weapon, but he wanted to continue to fight. The first man had a roommate. The roommate came from behind the house and shot the second man in the back of the leg with a shotgun, because my client had a gun but he had a gun holstered in his pocket but it was not displayed. My client was not convicted.

Interviewer: So when you get calls for representation on these cases, are they usually from a person in jail? Are the calls from the family?

Will You Be Immediately Released After Being Charged With a Dangerous Offense?

Acacia Law Normally it’s the family that calls, for two reasons. One, when someone is involved in what’s considered a dangerous crime of that nature, the bond is ordinarily very high. They will normally be booked and kept in custody. They remain in custody at least for a couple of days for evaluation and determination as to what is an appropriate bond or what are appropriate release conditions. Because the police want to access the situation and they need to make sure that they are not putting someone who is a danger to the community back out on the streets.

The second reason is, because the bonds can be so high, it can cause the person to be incarcerated for months and months to come. It is most often a family member or members who approach me, to represent someone who is custody in one of these situations.

Reducing the Bond Amount

Interviewer: Is one of your first strategies to try the bond amount reduced?

Acacia Law Yes. Ordinarily what I try to do before I move to modify release conditions, is I find out what is the fact pattern underlying the incident. In other words, what sequence of events can be presented in the most favorable light versus what the police officers have put down in their report. This sequence of events can be presented to a court to show there is a weakness in the state’s case, or to show affirmative defenses like justification. These defenses are applicable and will change the reality of the viability of the underlying charge.