Gun charges are treated seriously in Falls Church because the idea of having a gun or physical weapon in a community and having it used irresponsibly in a community is something that the prosecution and the police take very seriously. They want to protect their community and part of that protection is making sure that individuals are not misusing guns or, if they are using guns at all, that they are using them safely and within the legal boundaries.
For this reason, it is crucial to contact a Falls Church criminal lawyer. A Falls Church gun lawyer, in particular, can use their experience and knowledge to build a strong defense.
Some of the more common firearm or gun charges in Falls Church are carrying guns in places that you are not supposed to carry guns including airports, churches, courts, or school zones. Certainly, this includes firing guns in areas that you are not supposed to be firing them, inside of buildings, homes, schools, or in public. Possessing a gun without having the proper authorization or threatening somebody with a weapon also falls under common charges in Falls Church.
Additionally, when people transport their firearms through Falls Church, they are still subject to the laws of the State of Virginia and also the laws of Falls Church specifically. Simply because a person is only driving through Falls Church does not mean they are exempt from following the rules and regulations of both the local jurisdiction and the state involving firearms.
The potential penalties for gun offenses in Falls Church could be many different things, depending on what the person is charged with. If they are faced with a weapons offense, that is a class one misdemeanor. For example, if somebody discharges a gun in places they are not supposed to, it could be a class one misdemeanor and then they would be facing up to 12 months in jail and up to a $2,500 fine.
If some kind of bodily injury occurred, it could be a felony, which would carry prison time with it. Additionally, the other types of gun offenses, whether or not they are misdemeanors or felonies, can range in severity, but a person can look many years in prison depending on the elements of their case.
One of the most problematic long-term repercussions of a conviction for a gun crime is the decreased employment opportunities. Employers do not like to hire people that they think are dangerous, so somebody with a gun conviction or some kind of weapons conviction would not be viewed favorably applying for a job.
Additionally, if it is a felony gun charge in Virginia, a person can lose the right to carry a firearm and they have to petition to get it restored.
The importance of working with a private law firm when facing gun charges is that there are many ramifications that can occur from having a gun charge on a person’s record. These things can follow them throughout their life and can cause problems when they are trying to seek employment.
A Falls Church gun lawyer can work with the court system to aggressively fight the case for the defendant and to find and exhaust all other options to try to get these charges taken off of their record and not allow them to be convicted of these charges.
Additionally, a gun lawyer in Falls Church can have access to experts and databases that are simply not going to be available in the public sphere. They can also have networks, investigators, and significant amounts of time to spend on a person’s case than public attorneys may be able to.
The advantages of having an aggressive firearms lawyer when a person is facing gun charges in Falls Church is that if they hire an experienced gun attorney in Falls Church, they will have somebody on their side from the very beginning taking apart all the evidence the prosecution has to offer—whether that be contesting the possession, denying the charge altogether, or having somebody aggressively advocating by their side during the course of the trial to convince the judge or the jury to find them not guilty.