The case in a nut shell:
Guys go to the range. They leave and are sitting in the plaintiff's car.
Defendant wants to buy plaintiff's 1911.
Plaintiff is willing to sell.
Defendant picks up gun and shoots plaintiff in both legs with one round. Says he was only dropping the hammer and thought the gun was empty.
Plaintiff sues for medical (I don't think punitive was even involved).

Judge Judy awards him half --- Says plaintiff is 1/2 responsible for bringing the gun to the scene in the first place.

Defendant argued throughout the *trial* that he knows and always practices firearm safety.
Idiot plaintiff never disputed the above.
Judge Judy didn't have the slightest idea.

I say the judge blew it - Defendant's fault all the way.

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In dog years I'm dead.

I think the plaintiff has SOME responsibility in it, considering it was his gun. For his OWN safety, and that of the defendant as well, he should have checked it first, then the defendant should have checked it again when he picked it up. C'mon, can that smokin' hot Judge Judy really blow a ruling?

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MARK

Judge Judy isn't worth watching and shouldn't be a judge or a celebrity.
But in the case that you described, I'd say she made a good decision. The plaintiff is responsible for "his" gun and never should have let the defendant touch it while it was loaded, unless they were out of the car at the range and at a shooting station.

You're gonna give Sip an aneurysm trying to refrain from commenting on your title . . . .

I have to say I agree with the Judge. Anytime I hand a handgun to ANYONE I check to see if it's unloaded. He said "that he knows and always practices firearm safety", but here he plainly did not.

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- The Federalist #46 -

Judge Judy blew two: "Guns are not sentimental" in an estate case.

ALL guns should be unloaded before an unknown,or unskilled person handles.If you don't know how the gun works,don't touch it[don't ask me how i know].

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WALSTIB

If I'm selling a gun it won't be loaded...both are idiots.

Tsk tsk Nframe....

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

They were both dumb at the range and even stupider to put themselves at the mercy of that broad.

My wife watches that show on occasion, and I have to shut the door so I can't hear that "she mule" bray all the time.

I'd forgot that one. That statement actually saddened me at the time.
I would hope that she would rule the same if the item were an article of jewelry, but I doubt it.

As to the Both Are Responsible sentiment:
I've always believed that once the gun is in your hand it's your responsibility - Period.

We actually had a cop in one of our neighboring counties sue the county after he shot himself in the leg. His argument was that they didn't instruct him that the gun had to unloaded before you clean it!
Under the The Owner Is Also Responsible argument he should have collected - It was, after all, an issued weapon.

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In dog years I'm dead.

A+

What kind of mess would this of been if someone was fat-ally shoot?

Go to any gun store and ask to handle the weapon of interest. The clerk will check to make sure even a new gun in the store is unloaded before handing it over to you.

I would say in this case, the plantiff was 75% at fault. It was his auto, it was his gun and handed a loaded gun over to a person in close quarters.

The defendant only let the hammer down on a live round while pointed in the wrong direction.

Judge Judy is actually pro gun, stating on several occasions she believed in gun ownership and qualified people should own guns for protection. She is a gun owner.

I can't stand to watch Judge Judy. She is rude, crass, and often makes up her mind before one party has a chance to present his/her case.

In this case, I agree with others who said it was the gun owner's responsibility to make sure the gun was empty before he handed it over to anyone else. I do, for my own safety...I'm not worried about liability as much as I am life: MINE!

I'm still trying to figure out how to shoot oneself in both legs with one negligent discharge. The nitwit seller (100%@ fault) handing a loaded gun for sale to a buyer is an example of why carry is not allowed at shows. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

The gun owner was supposed to be in control of his firearm, that
includes ensuring that it doesn't leave that control while loaded.
TACC1

I'm thinking the gun owner was more at fault then the shooter, for handing someone a loaded gun to examine.

Iggy you had better explain "bray" to the big city folks........

Simple, the bullet either grazes one leg at a downward angle and enters the other or else it passes through one leg and enters the other. Based on sitting in a car in an upright position, I feel the first scene is most likely.

I don't think the owner handed the gun to the shooter... Although I really don't remember for sure, but I think the idiot just picked it up.

The gun in my car is loaded too -- But don't even try to just pick it up - Blood will leak from your nose onto my upholstery then we might have a problem.
(You would have to know it's there, and how to get at it, to access it though.)

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In dog years I'm dead.

Gotta agree with the brain dead on both parts. But whenever I pickup or handle a gun, the first thing I do is clear it. Second thing is the simplest rule, don't aim at anything you aren't willing to distroy. The other point was, he didn't 'just let the hammer down', he had to have pulled the trigger.

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Pete.

I don't "pick up" a firearm that doesn't belong to me. I wait for the owner to open the action and hand it to me.
I fault the Defendant 100% in this one, but that's just me.
As far as the Plaintiff's innate stupidity, you take your victim as you find him.

Don't know if Judge Judy is a real or make beleive judge but what I do know is that she is a witch and and so far overboard no life preserver could ever save her. However the decision was correct; I would never hand any of my pistols over to anyone without dropping the magazine and unloading the chamber and locking the slide back.

Me too. Once the gun is in your hand, no matter how it got there, it is 100% your problem. If you don't know how to unload it, you can always lay it down and guard it until someone smart enough to handle the thing comes along.

Based on your post, I think she missed the mark, but judges like to resort to that comparative negligence thing when they think they can.

My witty double entendre post about the thread title got deleted

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Forum consigliere

Handing over a loaded gun - Yep Ron White is correct - ya cant fix stupid...

At least you gave it the old Boy Scout try.

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MARK

He didn't. The prospective buyer picked it up and shot the owner (the other guy) through both legs.

A few times I had brought Juveniles to her court for minor cases in NYC. I don't like her and definitely believe she is way over opinionated. But, I will say this, she controls her court room and has respect for law and order. Unlike some other TV judges who put on a different kind of circus.
As far as the gun case, two idiots, a loaded weapon and a confined space, Darwins theory on evolution in full progress.

I could never watch Judge Judy, she reminds me too much of the Crypt Keeper and I truly believe she is Nancy Pelosi in disguise. (Not much of a disguise mind you)

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Vaya con Dios

I thought there would be photos...

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Sincerely,
Hobie