Cummings Trial Verdict!

I wanted to give all of you a heads up--I'm covering the final closing arguments of the Dean Cummings trial today, the defense having rested yesterday afternoon, but in a different format than previously. Nick Rekieta of Rekieta Law has kindly invited me on to his Rumble stream today to guest-host the trial proceedings, so that's where I'll be. Accordingly, you won't find me live streaming the proceedings, as previously for this trial, on my Law of Self Defense Rumble, YouTube, Twitter, or LOSD Members page. (LOSD Members should expect a playback of today's streaming as a blog post and podcast content, however, shortly after the day wraps up.) Nick plans to start his streaming coverage of the Cummings trial at 11 AM Eastern time, with the trial itself expected to come into session at 11:30 AM. We'll likely spend the first 30 minutes prior to court commencing just doing a quick recap of the trial to date--and perhaps playing an audio-optimized version of the rifle-handling cross-examination of the defendant! You can catch Nick and I on today's Rumble stream by clicking the image or link below: https://lawofselfdefense.com/rekietalaw FREE! "Hard to Convict" Webinar! FREE! Law of Self Defense “HARD TO CONVICT” Webinar! Free, but you MUST register here: https://hardtoconvict.com/ VERY LIMITED SEATS! Remember: You carry a gun so you’re hard to kill. Know the law so you’re hard to convict! Stay safe! --Andrew Attorney Andrew F. Branca Law of Self Defense LLC Nothing in this content constitutes legal advice. Nothing in this content establishes an attorney-client relationship, nor confidentiality. If you are in immediate need of legal advice, retain a licensed, competent attorney in the relevant jurisdiction

Today the defense begins to present its case in chief to the jury in the murder trial of NM v. Cummings, the State having rested on Friday afternoon. This means that finally the defense will be calling its own witnesses, and the State will be limited to cross-examination of those witnesses. We'll be live streaming today's proceedings in real-time, rather than playing catch-up as we were doing in our coverage of the trial last week. (That means no fast-forwarding through breaks, unfortunately--but we'll fill that time with other content.) NOTE: We will read comments and answer questions FIRST from the Law of Self Defense Members chat, and SECOND from SuperChats on YouTube that are a minimum of $5. I would humbly suggest that it's much more cost-effective to become a Law of Self Defense Member for less than $10 for an entire month than to pay for numerous $5 SuperChats (30% of which goes to YouTube) over the course of our coverage of this trial. Become a Law of Self Defense Member INSTANTLY here: https://lawofselfdefense.com/join Court is expected to come into session at 11 AM ET. We'll start our coverage an hour prior, at 10 AM ET, perhaps with a replay once again of the opening statements to refresh everyone's recollection on what each side promised at the start of this trial to deliver to the jury. I've also sent out guest invites to the usual "Friends of Law of Self Defense," so we may have some of those great folks popping in from time to time to add insight, analysis, and humor, as their time and interest allows. The State's narrative of guilt of famous skier Dean Cummings in the shooting death of Guillermo Alliora presented in last week's case in chief proved shockingly weak. This was especially true of the State's final witness, the lead investigator on this case, who because of a 9-day coma has lost virtually all recollection of the matter, not even recalling if he testified before the grand jury (he did). The State's other witnesses, especially their law enforcement witnesses, were also just awful. While no one can ever know what really happened in that cabin the day Cummings shot and killed Arriola, the State's burden to achieve conviction of Cummings is to disprove his legal defense of self-defense beyond any reasonable doubt. So far any objective view of the evidence and testimony must conclude that it is entirely consistent with self-defense, rather than inconsistent--and certainly does not disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. I'd like to take a moment to particularly note the excellent legal defense being provided Cummings by Attorney Kari Morrisey. Were I charged with murder in New Mexico, Attorney Morrisey would likely be my first choice for representation. Also very sound has been the performance of defense co-counsel Attorney Nicole Moss. Want to be able to stay with us for the LOSD Member portion of the show? BECOME A LOSD MEMBER RIGHT NOW! It's less than $10/month, only about 30 cents a day! https://lawofselfdefense.com/join SUBSCRIBE TO our NEW YouTube channel for short content: "Law of Self Defense Briefs" https://lawofselfdefense.com/briefs SUBSCRIBE TO our STANDARD long-form YouTube channel: "Law of Self Defense" https://youtube.com/lawofselfdefense FREE! Law of Self Defense “HARD TO CONVICT” Webinar! https://hardtoconvict.com/ FREE, BUT VERY LIMITED SEATS! FREE LEGAL CONSULTATION! We ONLY consult on legal cases for our Platinum members! BE HARD TO CONVICT, become a Law of Self Defense Platinum member TODAY! http://lawofselfdefense.com/platinum FREE BOOK! “The Law of Self Defense: Principles” Physical book, 200+ pages, we just ask that you cover the S&H: http://lawofselfdefense.com/freebook FREE 5-ELEMENTS OF SELF-DEFENSE LAW CHEAT SHEET! Totally free cheat sheet explaining the 5-elements of any claim of self-defense. If you don’t understand these five elements you have no idea what legally qualifies as lawful self-defense. PDF download, zero cost: http://lawofselfdefense.com/elements #DeanCummings

This is our FINAL day of CATCH-UP live-streaming the Dean Cummings self-defense trial taking place this week in New Mexico--with our next show on this trial we'll be doing our commentary and analysis in real time, as the trial takes place. This will be a relatively SHORT DAY, as court was in session for only about three hours. Cummings is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, tampering with evidence, and concealing his identity. His legal defense is self-defense. Spoiler: I'm told that at the end of today's proceedings the State rests, and the court grants the defense motions to dismiss the ridiculous charges of tampering with evidence and concealing his identity. Remaining for the jury's consideration, however, are the equally ridiculous murder and manslaughter charges. So, today's show will be our assessment of whether the remainder of the State's evidence could possibly lead any rational jury to a conclusion that Cummings claim of self-defense has been disproved beyond a reasonable doubt by the State. Once again, I've invited various law-guests on throughout the day, as they have time and interest available--pop in and see who's joined! Dean Cummings, once apparently a famous skier, shot and killed Guillermo Arriola on February 29, 2020, in New Mexico. The two men got into an altercation in Cummings trailer when they argued about a prospective sale of land by Arriola to Cummings. Cummings claims that Arriola sprayed him with a chemical irritant and tried to kill him, and that Cummings shot Arriola dead with a rifle in self-defense. Want to be able to stay with us for the LOSD Member portion of the show? BECOME A LOSD MEMBER RIGHT NOW! It's less than $10/month, only about 30 cents a day! https://lawofselfdefense.com/join SUBSCRIBE TO our NEW YouTube channel for short content: "Law of Self Defense Briefs" https://lawofselfdefense.com/briefs SUBSCRIBE TO our STANDARD long-form YouTube channel: "Law of Self Defense" https://youtube.com/lawofselfdefense FREE! Law of Self Defense “HARD TO CONVICT” Webinar! https://hardtoconvict.com/ FREE, BUT VERY LIMITED SEATS! FREE LEGAL CONSULTATION! We ONLY consult on legal cases for our Platinum members! BE HARD TO CONVICT, become a Law of Self Defense Platinum member TODAY! http://lawofselfdefense.com/platinum FREE BOOK! “The Law of Self Defense: Principles” Physical book, 200+ pages, we just ask that you cover the S&H: http://lawofselfdefense.com/freebook FREE 5-ELEMENTS OF SELF-DEFENSE LAW CHEAT SHEET! Totally free cheat sheet explaining the 5-elements of any claim of self-defense. If you don’t understand these five elements you have no idea what legally qualifies as lawful self-defense. PDF download, zero cost: http://lawofselfdefense.com/elements #DeanCummings

Dean Cummings, once apparently a famous skier, shot and killed Guillermo Arriola on February 29, 2020, in New Mexico. The two men got into an altercation in Cummings trailer when they argued about a prospective sale of land by Arriola to Cummings. Cummings claims that Arriola sprayed him with a chemical irritant and tried to kill him, and that Cummings shot Arriola dead with a rifle in self-defense. Cumming is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, tampering with evidence, and concealing his identity. His legal defense is self-defense. I only became aware of this trial when it was brought to my attention by @LawTalkWithMike, who invited me on his show to discuss the case, but unfortunately by the time I came across his invitation I'd missed the window. Opening statements occurred two days ago, on November 1, 2022, so we're playing catch up on the proceedings. Want to be able to stay with us for the LOSD Member portion of the show? BECOME A LOSD MEMBER RIGHT NOW! It's less than $10/month, only about 30 cents a day! https://lawofselfdefense.com/join SUBSCRIBE TO our NEW YouTube channel for short content: "Law of Self Defense Briefs" https://lawofselfdefense.com/briefs SUBSCRIBE TO our STANDARD long-form YouTube channel: "Law of Self Defense" https://youtube.com/lawofselfdefense FREE! Law of Self Defense “HARD TO CONVICT” Webinar! https://hardtoconvict.com/ FREE, BUT VERY LIMITED SEATS! FREE LEGAL CONSULTATION! We ONLY consult on legal cases for our Platinum members! BE HARD TO CONVICT, become a Law of Self Defense Platinum member TODAY! http://lawofselfdefense.com/platinum FREE BOOK! “The Law of Self Defense: Principles” Physical book, 200+ pages, we just ask that you cover the S&H: http://lawofselfdefense.com/freebook FREE 5-ELEMENTS OF SELF-DEFENSE LAW CHEAT SHEET! Totally free cheat sheet explaining the 5-elements of any claim of self-defense. If you don’t understand these five elements you have no idea what legally qualifies as lawful self-defense. PDF download, zero cost: http://lawofselfdefense.com/elements #DeanCummings