Firearm Application Renewals Require a Background Check
Firearm licenses are valid for 6 years. You must submit a request with your local police department for a renewal prior to the expiration date of your current license. Your local police department will do a criminal background check to see if you have been charged or found guilty of a criminal offense since LTC was allowed.
If anyone renewing his or her LTC has been denied by the chief of police they have 90 days to appeal the decision to the Firearms Licensing Review Board. It is very difficult to overturn a police chief’s decision not to renew a license to carry a firearm.
A police chief has broad discretion or considerable latitude to issue a firearms carrying license. In order to overturn a police chief’s denial the applicant must prove that the police chief had no reasonable ground for denying the license. To prove this the applicant must show that the refusal to grant the license was arbitrary, capricious or an abuse of discretion. Again this is very difficult to do.
The Firearms Licensing Review Board’s Authority is Limited
The Board has the authority to review only misdemeanor convictions. The Board may not review convictions for:
a) an assault or battery on a family or household member, or a person with whom you have had a substantive dating relationship, as defined by G.L. c. 209A, § 1;
b) a crime involving use, possession, ownership, transfer, purchase, sale, lease, rental, receipt or transportation of weapons or ammunition for which a term of imprisonment may be imposed; or
c) a crime regulating the use, possession or sale of controlled substances.
In addition, the statute specifies that the Board may not review a petition if the petitioner:
a) has a disqualifying felony conviction;
b) has multiple misdemeanor convictions, unless the offenses arise from one incident;
c) was denied a license to carry on the basis of suitability rather than a disqualifying conviction (the District Court is the appropriate forum for appeal in this case); or
d) is disqualified for a reason other than a misdemeanor conviction, such as having an active warrant or restraining order.
In some cases it is possible to vacate an old guilty plea. Attorney Patrick J. Noonan has vacated guilty pleas on several occasions which allowed his clients to renew their LTC and keep their firearms.
We have a Proven Track Record of Helping Firearm Applicants
May 19, 2017
Commonwealth v. V.P.
Orleans District Court
Client Was Found Guilty Of A Felony After A Trial In 1980 But Attorney Patrick J. Noonan Gets The Conviction Vacated And Dismissed.
The Client is a 63-year-old former carpenter from Dennis who remains disabled from a bad work-related accident. In 1980, when the Client was 26 years-old, he was charged with felony larceny for allegedly stealing trees and shrubs from a Nursery in Dennis. The Client went to trial and was found guilty of the felony larceny. The client, an avid hunter, has been a gun owner since he was 17 years-old. He has had a Firearms Identification Card (FID Card) since age 17 and has renewed his FID Card for the past 46 years with no issues. The Client was concerned that his FID Card would be denied for renewal because of the old felony conviction.
Result: Attorney Patrick J. Noonan filed a Motion to Vacate his client’s Conviction arguing that: there was insufficient evidence that the larceny was a felony because the value of the stolen property was not clearly proven, the client had a viable Motion to Dismiss because the stolen property was never recovered despite police executing a search of the client’s home, and trial judge may have committed error in permitting the client to be represented at trial by his co-defendant who was acting pro se. Prior to any hearing on the Motion to Vacate Conviction, Attorney Noonan had a conversation with the District Attorney’s Office who agreed to vacate the client’s conviction and enter a dismissal. Attorney Noonan then filed a new Motion to Vacate Conviction that was agreed to by the parties. The Judge allowed the Motion to Vacate and entered a dismissal, as requested by both parties.
March 8, 2017
Commonwealth v. L.A.
Brockton District Court
Attorney Patrick J. Noonan Convinces A Judge To Vacate An Old Conviction For A Crime Against The Public Justice And Then Successfully Petitions The Commissioner Of Probation To Seal It From His Client’s Record.
Client is a 70 year-old accountant, grandmother, and former drug-addict who had an old felony conviction from 1984 for smuggling drugs into a prison. The client had turned her life around but was always haunted by her past. Back in the 1980s, client had a terrible drug addiction. In 1984, she was arrested for attempting to smuggle cocaine into a prison for an inmate. She was convicted of the serious felony offense of Giving a Prisoner a Controlled Substance. That was the last time the client ever had any involvement with police or the court system. She committed herself to treatment and lived a life of sobriety ever since. She went back to school and earned a degree in Accounting and graduated at the top of her class with Highest Honors. She has been employed as an Accountant for over 30 years and has held the same job for nearly 15 years. Despite the remarkable turnaround in her life, she was always haunted by her old felony conviction, which was a constant reminder of her past. She petitioned the Commissioner of Probation in Boston to seal the felony conviction from her record. Regrettably, she was informed that the conviction was non-sealable because it was a Crime against the Public Justice. Her only hope was to have the felony conviction vacated, which she believed was impossible. Other attorneys told her that convincing a judge to vacate a conviction for this charge would be very difficult. In a leap of faith, she contacted Attorney Patrick J. Noonan who agreed to take on the case.
Result: Attorney Patrick J. Noonan made a compelling argument to a Judge of the Brockton District Court to vacate his client’s felony conviction. In a rare case, the Judge entered an order and vacated a conviction for a Crime against the Public Justice. With the conviction vacated, the Commissioner of Probation agreed to seal the charge from the client’s record.
Was Your Application to Renew a License to Carry a Firearm Denied?
Call 508-588-0422 For A Free Initial Consultation
If your application for renewal of a gun permit or LTC a firearm was denied, you need a lawyer that knows the ins and outs of this specialized area of law. You need a gun charge attorney that has handled ammunition and firearms cases for clients in the past. No matter where you are located in Massachusetts, expert legal help is just a phone call away. To schedule a free, no-obligation case review and free consultation with an experienced Brockton / Greater Boston Area, MA Criminal Defense Trial Lawyer call our law offices at (508) 584-6955.
Our Reputation Speaks for Itself
Our compassionate and experienced criminal defense attorneys are experienced trial lawyers who aggressively represent those accused of DUI/OUI and other driving offenses, felony crimes, juvenile crimes, and misdemeanor charges in Massachusetts courts. Our law firm is available to assist clients throughout all of Southeast Massachusetts, including but not limited to: Plymouth County including Brockton, Plymouth, Bridgewater, Hingham, Wareham, Middleboro; Norfolk County including Quincy, Stoughton, Dedham, Weymouth, Braintree, Randolph, Canton, Sharon, Brookline, Franklin; Bristol County including New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton, Wrentham, Attleboro, Mansfield, Easton, Raynham; and Middlesex County including Cambridge, Lowell, Somerville, Newton, Woburn, Framingham, Malden, Chelsea, Everett, Arlington, Medford and Waltham; Cape Cod, Barnstable, Hyannis, Falmouth and Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee & Worcester; Essex County including Lynn, Lawrence, Peabody, Haverhill, and Salem; and the Greater Boston area including South Boston, Revere, Dorchester, Brighton and Roxbury.
