The Litmus Test

Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)

I was going over some historical data on self-protection for self-defense when I came across the litmus test created by Marc MacYoung and Jenna Meeks and it made me consider them in deeper detail as follows. 

The one point I always make is those of us who seek self-protection skills must remember the battle starts before we encounter an attack(er), then the actual encounter, followed closely by the social and legal aspects of the aftermath but it just occurred to me that the legal is a two prong danger, i.e., the criminally legal process followed often by the more chaotic civil suit that will follow especially if you win the criminal case. 

Other aspects of the litmus test about, "acting, stopping the attack(er), and the emotional fallout one goes through over a long period of time is this added, for me anyway, clue that there is the danger of the civil proceedings. If you have not prepared thoroughly for all these factors in your self-protection for self-defense training, academic and reality-based physical, then you have literally failed yourself and your students, if you teach this stuff, to properly, efficiently and thoroughly trained for self-protection for self-defense. 

CIVIL ACTIONS: [CAVEAT, I am not an attorney and this is NOT legal advice of any kind. It is meant to inspire those in the self-defense communities to seek out proper legal advice on the subject of both criminal and civil law and legal proceedings and processes. Think of this as a means of teaching one to always, always, always seek out legal advice from legal professionals certified, qualified and validated from proper authorized sources.]

Civil law fundamentally can be said to be a body of laws of a state or nation regulating ordinary private matters, as distinct from laws regulating criminal, political, or military matters. Roman History. the body of law proper to the city or state of Rome, as distinct from that common to all nations. Compare jus civil systems of law influenced significantly and in various ways by Roman law, especially as contained in the Corpus Juris Civilis, as distinct from the common law and canon or ecclesiastical law.

Just reading that paragraph should be a solid push to seek out legal professionals if you really want to prepare yourself and students for the inevitability of legal proceedings otherwise you will be overwhelmed psychologically and economically when that tsunami hits face on. 

Where you may look for a comparison to criminal v. civil is here: The Difference between Criminal and Civil Cases in California Courts

If I have it right, in a criminal trial the totality of evidence is how they determine if you go to jail, do not pass go and do not collect $200 or you go free. If I have it right, in a civil case, “Civil cases rely on a preponderance of evidence, which means that while (technically) less evidence can be used in a civil claim, it must still be convincing to a judge or jury.”

Once again, reading this shall again push you hard to seek out legal advice from legally qualified and certified legal professionals because this is NOT one of them or a legal source but simply a way to point and reference finding out more, properly, way above and beyond this entertainment-esque academic basic research endeavor. 

My only objective, goal and mile-marker here is to trigger interest and inspire you, the reader, to do your due diligence in gathering proper, legal and valid information from those recommended legal professionals. Hey, you can invite self-defense attorneys to join and provide training in your dojo if you want. 

Anyway, when teaching and training for self-protection under self-defense you want to have an understanding of how violence works, how to handle it from avoidance through deescalation and into the physical chaos of actual physical self-defense and then through the emotional, legal, civil and monetary costs of the aftermath when the first responders begin their efforts when the dust settled from the effort to defend and protect. Believe me, I am not trying to make it a complex and convoluted process but KNOW THIS, it is a convoluted, complex, and convoluted mine field of dangers, pitfalls and obstacles you must understand and deal with if things go south on you out there in the world. 

Add in, if you train, practice and apply your skills in self-protection for self-defense you can count on every thing you learn, teach, study, articulate and do as to the system you practice to be used against you in your efforts to remain in the self-defense legal square because that and your training put you in a different light to the system and those in it like jurists. 

Take heed to the warning and do the work, you won’t regret it if, God forbid, you are forced to protect yourself using those self-defense skills. The “Litmus Test” is a good starter and if you seek out more through the study of both Marc MacYoung and Jenna Meeks work, books and classes you will be well on your way to covering your ass. 

In closing, “The legal system is a virtual mine field and proper legal guidance is the ONLY way to navigate the field and reach safety, security and freedom!”

Note: preponderance of evidence, “Under the preponderance standard, the burden of proof is met when the party with the burden convinces the fact finder that there is a greater than 50% chance that the claim is true. This is the burden of proof in a civil trial.” - https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/preponderance_of_the_evidence

For reference and sources and professionals go here: Bibliography (Click the link)