Lawyers have told me if you shoot somebody with ANY kind of assult weapon and it goes to court its all down hill for you. "Just based on looks of the gun the other lawyer will label you a violent gun nut for owning such a thing. Make sure if your using something for home defense that its got a wood stock, a shoulder strap, and looks like an old hunting gun. Nothing remotely like a military firearm in any way." Dont ask why I had to talk to lawyers on this... Use what you like, but dont think the prosecuting attorney isnt going to be all over telling the jury how your a premedative nut for "owning military style weapons"!
While I can appreciate your advice, I think it is misplaced.
First, a good shoot is a good shoot. Know the law, follow the law, and you'll be fine.
Second, this philosophy may have been true 10 or 20 years ago, but the world is a different place. M4 Carbines are quickly becoming acceptable mainstream SD weapons.
Third, if that is what your lawyer told you, find another lawyer. Any lawyer fresh out of community college law school could shoot down (no pun intended) that argument. I can think of 5 responsible justifications right off the top of my head.
Now if we are talking about using an AK style weapons platform, then yes, the battle will be a little harder. But it's a public image battle, not a legal battle. The Supreme Court has ruled that (paraphrasing) if Deadly Force is justified then the manner in which the force is applied is of no consequence. Be it a rifle, pistol, knife, flashlight, car, pen, etc.. The use of an AK in a shooting that may be ambiguous or excessive,
may influence a prosecutor, but so will several other factors. Once again, refer to rule one and I think you'll be fine. The prosecutor may not like it, but prosecutor's are driven by winning not necessarily what's right, especially ones with political aspirations. They all like to have perfect conviction records so they can use those as good springboards to a political career. The cherry pick cases they know they can win hands down. If you follow the law, this works in your favor.
USSA-1