On June 2, 2024, the PFDC will be presenting an all-day lecture and seminar on the law in Pennsylvania governing the use of deadly force. The course is being run by Peter Georgiades, an attorney with 45 years of experience as a litigator in state and federal courts.

If you have ever attended one of those seminars for “self-defense insurance,” and heard the 45-minute talk by the attorney they always have at the beginning of the program, this is like that. Only we go into much more depth and detail about the various considerations involved in every situation where force, up to and including deadly force, is applied as a means of self-defense. We also allow a lot of time for questions, answers and interaction among participants.

This is the fourth such program we have conducted, and they have been well-received. In the past, we have had a number of police officers in attendance, and they have been willing to share their views and experience in dealing with confrontations, concealed carry, traffic stops, and the like.

Specific topics addressed will include:

• Distinguishing “reasonable 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.
• The “Castle Doctrine,” and how the 2011 changes in the law are working out.
• Consequences of being wrong (civil and criminal exposure).
• Consequences of being right (proving your case and avoid “talking your way into jail”).
• Circumstances affecting the lawfulness of a use of deadly force:
o Protection of self
o Protection of others
o Protection of property
o Provocation, escalation and your responsibility for a confrontation
o Use of force to make or resist an arrest
o Use of force to maintain order by those charged with care of others
o The duty to retreat
o Confinement as “deadly force”
o Duty to render aid following the use of deadly force
• Your obligations in dealing with the police following an incident
• “Prohibited” weapons and your liability for possessing them
• Using deadly force against animals (excluding hunting and the Game Code)

Many of these topics have been the subject of long threads on this forum. And much of what has been posted in those threads is simply incorrect, from a legal perspective. This course is grounded in statutes, case law, and trial experience. It is not political, and we dismiss theories and arguments based upon “culture war” issues. This is because such theories and arguments will not do you one bit of good if something happens and you are arrested. Attendees have been surprised at how wrong they have been about various aspects of the use of force and self-defense.

This course is not just for gun owners. This is for martial artists, or anyone else who contemplates using force to defend home, family or self, with or without the use of weapons.

The cost is $90 for the day with advance enrollment. It will be held at the conference facility at the Holiday Inn Express in Greentree, right off the Parkway West at the top of “Greentree hill.”

Information on the course and how to enroll can be found at www.fireinstitute.org. If you have questions, call the FIRE Institute at (412) 391-0169.