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I was court martialled is the marine coorps in 1997 as a summary court martial. On my record it shows larceny from auto and disorderly conduct. I have been denied the purchase of a firearm as a result. I was under the impression that a summary court martial was not a federal offense or a felony conviction. Either way I need to know how to rectify it. Is an expungement possible for a summary court martial? Will that restore firearms possession rights? If not, what will?
Hello joe:Quote:
Originally Posted by joekidd
Let's see - expungement or appeal - which path offers the least resistance? In my view, the appeal path would be my choice.
I say that, because in a civilian court, expungement would NOT restore federal gun rights. It only hides your conviction (from the free world - NOT the government). Expungement would also not bar the court from using your prior conviction against you when it comes to sentencing, should you ever be convicted again. But I digress.
I also say that, because I know that the federal bureaucrat who denied you, did so to cover his butt – not to make sure the law was followed. Now, I don't know that, of course. But, I do know bureaucrats!
A pardon would achieve your objective too, and I should have mentioned it. Until recently I would have never thought of it as a possibility. However, I just read that Bush DID grant some pardons recently... (Maybe only to Republicans - but you can certainly say you're one, or, hire a very prominent one to represent you.. ) Yeah, I like that one...
Or you can appeal the original decision to deny your gun purchase. Certainly, you'll need a lawyer to accomplish ANY of the above. I would guess that a legal basis could be found in the fact that your summary courts marshal conviction might just translate to a misdemeanor conviction in a civil court. Misdemeanors DON'T prevent you from owning a gun. Of course, your lawyer should have more than an exconvict does anyway.
Or, you can have your wife buy the gun. HER rights are still in tact. If you need to shoot somebody to defend your home, I don't think they're going to say that your wife should have grabbed the gun instead of you. However, the government CAN be pretty stupid. But I digress once again.
excon
If I am not mistaken and I am no expert on the new rules to buy a gun, I buy them all the time, but don't think about it.
I believe if you were discharged from the military under any terms other than Honorable, you can not buy a gun,
And at least in GA theft from a auto is always a felony since it invovles entering a auto which is a felony. ** OK DA can make a deal to lower it, but as it stands it is charged as a felony
Hmmm. I am awaiting a meeting with an attourney who tells me this is no problem. Then again he just wants my money. When I was originally denied the purchase of a rifle, I appealed to the state police and they mailed me the report which only stated larceny from auto and disorderly conduct. I then called in a favor and got a copy of my FBI record to see if that was it and it was the same. I though larceny from auto in the amount of under $500 was petit larceny and not a felony. I never actually stole anything, but under the definition of larceny - taking and asportation of the personal property of another with the intent to deprive him or her of it permanently, I was guilty. Ahh, too much for me to understand, Ill see what the lawyer says. Thank you for the input gentelmen and have a good newyear.
I don't know where this was, but I do know ( I was a officer in GA and arrested many a person for "entering auto" the GA law for getting into someone else's car it is a felony even if you just take a ink pen or some change off their dash.
We would get a lot of homeless on that.
This is a link to a list of person by state that can not own a gun
StateMaster - Statistics > Gun Laws > Prohibited persons by state
This link mentions what I was thinking partly, if you have a dis-honorable discharge you can not buy a weapon, I found several links about it
JS Online: FBI Speeds Gun Purchase Background Checks
USATODAY.com - FBI speeds up gun background checks
I was court martialed in Japan. It shows on my record as district of columbia, yet it is not a federal conviction. I was not discharged as a result of the court martial. Only reduction of rank and a forfeiture of pay. I have an honorable discharge.
This is not good. If the wife buys the gun and gives it to the husband knowing full well that he cannot buy a gun, this is called a Straw Purchase and can lead to fines of up to $250,000 and up to 10 years in prison manditory. There are no questions asked. The wife would be charged as well as the husband and, if the person who sold the gun knowingly sold the gun to her because her husband could not, that person would be charged also.Quote:
Originally Posted by excon
Hello again J_9:
I didn't say she should buy a gun and give it to him. I did say she should buy a gun and store HER gun in the night stand. IF somebody broke in, I don't think the cops are going to bust him for grabbing HER gun. That's all I said.
I did NOT suggest they commit a crime. That wouldn't be cool. Please read a little more carefully.
excon
No, I never said you said that. But some people may misread. I was just clarifying what could happen if in fact she did to that.
Yes, dear, I know you chose your words carefully. But I wanted it to be clear to others who may read this what the consequences are if someone does decide to go out and do this.
To me your answer was perfect. But again, if some nutball read this and got it into their head to get someone else to buy them a gun, they at least know the repercussions.
If someone is a nut case, they merely buy the gun from a private party, look in the classified news paper and you will see people with guns for sell every day, no paper work required to sell to private party from a private party ( at least in the states I have lived in)
And of course for the really lower level, there are dealers in weapons just like drugs.
Yeah, but we get those in our gun shop all the time. They don't necessarily know the consequences of a straw purchase or even what a straw purchase is.
We get many people who know that they cannot buy a gun legally and bring a spouse or friend to buy the firearm. These people want a new firearm, usually for hunting.
We get a couple of potential straw purchasers a week.
I'm surprised this even came up in the background check. I was convicted of a special Court Martial in 1988 for larceny. Maximum was 6-months confinement, but received only 2-months, reduction to E-4, etc... I wasn't even discharged. In fact, I retired from the AF in 2003 at the grade of SMSgt/E-8. I have purchased guns numerous times since 1988. I found your question while researching concealed handgun laws. From what I can surmise, my Special Court Martial conviction won't even preclude me from a concealed handgun permit. Please read on...
A summary Court Martial is not a felony conviction period! There is nothing in the military to equate a Court Martial to a felony or misdemeanor conviction. The federal courts look at length of sentence to determine if a Court Martial in a felony or misdemeanor. If the conviction could result in a sentence of 1-year or more in a penitentiary, then it is considered a felony conviction.
Since the maximum punishment possible in a summary Court Martial in 1-month confinement, this is clearly a misdemeanor. In addition, a special Court Martial prior to 2002 could only result in a maximum confinement period of 6-months, this too would be a misdemeanor conviction. The following Supreme Court ruling tells it all.
NOTE: Although action by summary courts-martial is disciplinary in nature for a violation of military law, the Supreme Court has ruled that a summary court-martial is not a criminal proceeding (Middendorf v. Henry, 425 U.S.25).
I would definitely fight for your right to purchase/carry firearms...
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