New Jersey is known for having some of the strictest laws in the union concerning the possession, carrying and buying or selling of firearms.
As some information on the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General documents, the firearms laws in New Jersey can also be complicated. A visitor to the state or even someone who has lived there for a while could unwittingly commit a criminal weapons offense under New Jersey law.
Even if someone accused has no prior criminal history, they still may face serious consequences from a charge, including losing their ability to own or possess firearms at all.
New York and New Jersey also have strict rules about firearms. Depending on the situation, criminal charges in any of these thrree jurisdictions can be felony and can land a person in prison for years, even if the gun was not actually used to threaten or hurt anyone.
Those accused of a weapons crime will want to understand all their options
A resident of the greater New York City area or of the northern New Jersey suburbs will want to understand their options if they are accused of a weapons offense.
As with any criminal case, prosecutors and the law enforcement officers who work with them will have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person accused committed a crime.
In some circumstances, it can be hard for police to determine who owned or possessed a firearm, especially when no one claims the weapon as theirs. It can come down to little more than a police officer’s hunch.
Also, police often recover the firearms that they use as evidence of a weapons crime in an official search or during an arrest, traffic stop or other detention.
They must follow all laws, including the United States Constitution and the state constitution, when doing their search. Otherwise, the court should not allow them to admit the firearm as evidence. The court’s decision effectively kills the government’s weapons case.
An Essex County resident accused of a weapons offense may have these and other defenses available to them.