Laws regarding ownership, carrying, and use of a gun vary by state. This can make it difficult to know what actions are within the realm of legal rights, and what actions are considered criminal. Claiming ignorance of the law isn’t a strong defense, but if you find yourself fighting a gun charge there are some things you will want to know.
Nature of the Charge
Pennsylvania has restrictions in place regarding who is allowed to purchase a gun, sell a gun, and which establishments allow people to bring guns in with them. Pennsylvania honors concealed carry weapon licenses from 28 states and 31 states honor a CCW license from Pennsylvania (though these can vary slightly if the state of residence is different from the state that the license was given in). This means someone who is a non-resident in Pennsylvania that is found with a gun but isn’t legally allowed to have one is going to have a very different case, and defense, from a Pennsylvania resident who doesn’t have a license to carry and is found with a gun in a prohibited area. To successfully fight the charges against you, you must know exactly what it is you’re being charged with and why.
Challenge the Search or Warrant
Police are not allowed to search you for a weapon without probable cause. Probable cause means that there is reason to believe a crime has occurred, is occurring, or is about to occur. You need to have a Bucks County criminal attorney who is willing to explore and even attack probable cause. When your attorney attacks probable cause they can call for a motion to suppress evidence, meaning that there was no sufficient basis for probable cause. A motion to suppress evidence results in the court preventing the admission of evidence that could be incriminating and lead to conviction.
Eyewitness Credibility
Pennsylvania allows either the prosecution or the defense to impeach the credibility of a witness. There are different rules for determining a witness’ character versus their credibility, which is a difficult area of law to navigate. But a witness’ credibility can be enough to severely impact the outcome of your case. Credibility is determined, and challenged, by your attorney exploring the witness’ background.
Hire a Capable Lawyer
Above all, the most important way to fight a gun charge is to have a criminal defense attorney in Bensalem who is capable, competent and has a proven history of winning cases just like yours. Schatz and Stancu LLP specializes in criminal law and DUI charges, making our firm one of the best in the business. Contact us today and we will connect you with one of our top-ranking attorneys.
Comments