Reloads and malicious intent

[Tuzo]

Many TFL threads mention a prosecutor's field day if reloaded ammunition is used in self defense situations. The primary reason is malicious intent when loading hollow points, frangible bullets, and other seemingly sinister ammunition for home and self defense. To determine if there are any legal cases where this ploy was used by prosecutors against defendants, I tried several searches for legal examples.

No luck. Plenty of malicious intent examples, cases, and definitions but nothing specifically mentioning personally reloaded ammunition. A reference from California Concealed Carry.com states: "The reason given for using factory ammunition, as opposed to hand-loads, is to preclude your being accused of maliciously loading up special rounds to inflict extra harm on the person you were forced to defend against in the almost certain civil suit that follows a justifiable defense". Yet manufactured ammunition comes in various flavors such as the misnamed "cop killer" bullets, +P, +P+, etc that can be considered to be purchased with malicious intent because it is not "normal" ammunition.

Can anyone cite specific cases, criminal and civil, where reloaded ammunition has been referred to as malicious intent?

 

[OldMarksman]

Many TFL threads mention a prosecutor's field day if reloaded ammunition is used in self defense situations. The primary reason is malicious intent when loading hollow points, frangible bullets, and other seemingly sinister ammunition for home and self defense.

I beg your pardon, but I don't believe that that to be the primary reason cited.

To determine if there are any legal cases where this ploy was used by prosecutors against defendants, I tried several searches for legal examples.

What search medium did you use? Google? Lexis Nexis?

If there has been a case in appellate court (usually focussed on a matter of law or procedure in trial court, such as interpretation of the law or the constitution, admissibility of evidence, or jury instructions), you might stumble on something. Or you might not.

But unless the "ploy" has been the subject of an appeal, it probably won't show up in appellate court records at all.

The evidence, testimony, opening and closing arguments, etc. of a case in a trial court won't pop up in a search engine. News reports might.

You might have better luck panning for gold in a Memphis storm sewer.

 

[Al Norris]

See this post by Jart.

The problem stems from forensic testing of gunshot residue (GSR). There are exemplar munitions with factory loads. There are none, with reloads.

I would suggest joining that thread, up in the Handguns: Revolver forum, if you wish to contunue.

Forensics are not a topic for L&CR.