ABA Midyear Meeting 2016: Stand Your Ground Laws

Self defense through the use of deadly force is treated differently from state to state. The legal repercussions of defending yourself pivot on certain key, and often dissimilar, provisions of the law which dictate when, where, and how deadly force can be used. In this Special Report, Legal Talk Network producer Laurence Colletti sits down with Leigh Ann Buchanan, Steven Jansen, and Joshu Harris to discuss Stand Your Ground laws as well as their recent report to the American Bar Association titled ‘The National Taskforce on Stand Your Ground Laws Final Report and Recommendations’.

Leigh Ann Buchanan is the executive director of Venture Cafe’ Miami and chairperson of the Stand Your Ground Task Force. Prior to her current position, she worked as an attorney at Berger Singerman where her practice concentrated on complex commercial and transnational litigation as well as white collar defense and international commercial arbitration.

Steven Jansen is the vice-president and chief operating officer of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA). Prior to joining APA, he was the director of the National Center for Community Prosecution (NCCP) at the National District Attorneys Association and assistant prosecuting attorney for the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office.

Joshu Harris is an adjunct professor at Widener University Delaware Law School where he teaches criminal law. Within the American Bar Association, he currently serves on the Body Camera Task Force, Criminal Justice Section Council, and standing committee on Gun Violence. He is a member of the Stand Your Ground Task Force and has served as assistant district attorney in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.

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