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Date: 12/4/2021

9:30 am to 4:30 pm

Location: Doubletree by Hilton Hotel

Address: 500 Mansfield Ave. 15205

Latitude: 40.4187066   Longitude: -80.0586875

“Self-defense” is a topic known to people who carry firearms or study a martial art. But how much do you really know about the law which justifies using deadly force on another human being, and how that law is applied in real life? And in addition to training in technique, have you devoted time to preparing to make good, solid decisions in the midst of a sudden, possibly life-threatening emergency?

Legal justification of the use of deadly force is not as simple as “I feared for my life.” There are a number of circumstances where one will be not be regarded in law as having been justified in using deadly force, even though one may have been in fear for his or her life at the moment they resorted to deadly force. Nor is the question necessarily settled by the “Castle doctrine,” one’s duty to retreat, being in one’s home, or false-choice bromides about being “judged by 12 rather than being carried by 6.” Being wrong will be a life-changing event. Hesitation caused by uncertainty can be a life-ending event. Given those stakes, have you paid enough attention to how the applicable law is applied?

To help people make good decisions both before and after a violent confrontation, the Pennsylvania Firearms Development Corporation (PFDC) has put together a six-hour course of instruction, in which not only are the “rules” reviewed, but the practical application of those rules in the context of actual and hypothetical cases is discussed.

The course will address the following topics:

• Functionally conceiving of “rights,” “freedom,” and “self-defense.”
• What is “due process,” and how does it proceed?
• Defining “force” and “deadly force”
• The history of the legal defense of justification, and how it relates to “self defense”
• Statutory codification of deadly force principles in Pennsylvania
• Consequences of being wrong (civil and criminal exposure)
• Consequences of being right (the need to prove your case and avoid “talking your way into jail”)
• Using deadly force against dogs, cats and other animals (excluding hunting and the Game Code)
• How small changes in factual circumstances can greatly affect the lawfulness of a use of force

Cost: The cost is $120 for advance enrollment. The cost will be $140 at the door, space permitting. (It’s best to enroll in advance.)

Course format: We will be in a classroom format. The course will include both straightforward explanation of how the law works, what governing statutes provide, the specific elements of common offenses involving the use of force or threats to use force, as well as conversations about how one may best avoid unnecessary trouble. There will be three hours of discussion in the morning and three hours in the afternoon, with a one-hour break for lunch, and 15-minute breaks in the morning and in the afternoon. The course will run from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There is a coffee shop on site for lunch. Principles will be illustrated using actual cases and statutes (as opposed to political theories, urban myth or ideological notions of what is right and wrong).

Instructors: PETER GEORGIADES is a practicing attorney with 45 years of litigation experience. Having been admitted to practice in Arizona, the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania (now active in Pennsylvania only), he has advised many clients with respect to the law relating to the use of force. Peter has been an instructor in law at the National Law Center at the George Washington University and the Graduate School of Industrial Administration at Carnegie-Mellon University, and is also an experienced firearms instructor (NRA certified to instruct in rifle, pistol, shotgun and personal protection; State of Arizona CCW instructor certificate No. 8769268; member of the International Ass'n. of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI); and instructor in carbine and defensive tactics since 1997); Executive Director of the FIRE Institute. Peter is a judoka, holding the rank of Sandan (3rd Degree Black Belt), is a two-time medalist at the USA Senior National Judo Championships (2005 and 2007), and gold medalist at USJA PA state championships (2009, 2011).

KIM STOLFER will join Mr. Georgiades at the podium. Mr. Stolfer is the President of Firearms Owners Against Crime, a non-profit organization created with the purpose of preserving the individual right to keep and bear arms. Mr. Stolfer has extensive experience working with Pennsylvania legislators, writing bills and analyzing legislation that affects the law governing the use of force, and has been active in the advancement of the interests of firearms owners in the Pennsylvania for many years. Mr. Stolfer is up-to-the-minute in terms of new legislative developments, and how Pennsylvania firearms laws have changed over time. He will offer insight into the legislative process, and how law and policy interplay.

TO ENROLL:

Following this course description there is a paper enrollment form. Click HERE

Fill it out and send it to PFDC, 2130 Fox Way, Pittsburgh, PA 15203. Include a check or money order for $120, payable to “Pennsylvania Firearms Development Corporation.” You will receive a written enrollment confirmation by return mail. Enrollment is first-come/first-served, and enrollment is limited to 30 individuals.

Questions may be addressed directly to Mr. Georgiades by e-mail to click to view.