[ExI] waving guns

[Stuart LaForge]

Quoting Dylan Distasio:

> That said, they also made themselves immediate targets through their
> ill-advised decision.  Their defense is going to be that they believed they
> were in mortal danger due to the belligerence of the crowd and the fact
> they had broken a gate and intruded onto private property.   My point
> remains, however, that regardless of it being a dumb move, the decision to
> charge them is completely political.   Missouri has (had) an aggressive
> castle doctrine, and outside of the current environment, it is hard for me
> to believe a DA would have brought charges.

Probably. With regard to the castle doctrine, I think a lot will hinge  
on whether the couple and or the protesters were within the couple's  
curtilage under Missouri law when she swept the crowd repeatedly with  
her gun. Curtilage is a legal term I am just now learning about.  
According to earlier court precedents I found.

"Missouri courts consider four factors when determining whether an  
area lies within the
curtilage of the home:
Whether or not an area surrounding a dwelling is within the dwelling's
“curtilage” is generally assessed on a case-by-case basis, weighing  
four factors:
(1) the proximity of the area claimed to be curtilage to the home; (2)  
whether the
area is within an enclosure surrounding the home; (3) the nature of  
the uses to
which the area is put; and (4) steps taken to protect the area from  
observation by
people passing by."

Edwards, 36 S.W.3d at 26 n.2.

It should be an interesting case, not that I am an attorney or  
anything but there is good arguments on both sides.

Stuart LaForge