Here, from a thread I grabbed elsewhere, but there is a valid link:
(
http://online.ceb.com/calcases/CA4/5CA4t822.htm)
Basically, what happened was Mrs. Du shot Latasha Harlins with a 38 S&W revolver. Part of Mrs. Du's defense claim was that she didn't know of the "hair trigger" the gun supposedly had.
The entire court case is long, so I'll post the relevant parts here.(Emphasis mine)
Here is what their supposed expert whitness said for the record. I am quite disappointed in their whitness.
David Butler, a Los Angeles Police Department ballistics expert, testified extensively about the gun, a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver with a two-inch barrel. In summary, he testified that the gun had been altered crudely and that the trigger pull necessary to fire the gun had been drastically reduced. Also, both the locking mechanism of the hammer and the main spring tension screw of the gun had been altered so that the hammer could be released without putting much pressure on the trigger. In addition, the safety mechanism did not function properly.
The part of the court's opinion regarding this is here.
The court commented at sentencing that it did not "believe that Mrs. Du would be here today if the gun that she grabbed for protection had not been altered." The court elaborated: "This was a gun that had been stolen from the Du family and had been returned to them shortly before the shooting. The court has been presented with no evidence, and I do not believe that Mrs. Du knew that the gun had been altered in such a way as to ... make it an automatic weapon with a hairpin trigger. Ordinarily a .38 revolver is one of the safest guns in the world. Ordinarily, a woman Mrs. Du's size would have to decide consciously to pull the trigger and exert considerable strength to do so, but that was not true of the gun used to shoot Latasha Harlins. I have serious questions in my mind whether this crime would have been committed at all but for the altered gun."
Ultimately she got probation for her acts....
For that, she was lucky.
*****
Then there's US v Olofson, famous case about a rifle that was supposedly "broken" and double fired. This guy was still doing time last I knew. ATF took the gun, didn't allow the defense to have an expert look at it. Just because the AR did a double tap and an ATF agent happened to observe it.
Different scenario, but still clueless juries with firearms dishing out jail time for something they obviously can't comprehend (and a judge that let the system railroad this man).
****
That being said......... Especially in CT, I don't want to be the test case.
Also, I think if you do have a modified trigger, and you actually defend yourself, I think the modified trigger is the least of your issues - at least survival is the first.
I'm not saying don't - it's your choice. I've seen crazier arguments in court that made my head spin.
Jonathan
Yes this is an older court case, but it was one we are currently studying.
