I had my record expunged can I now buy firearms?

[MDJschool]

It really doesn't matter what you are charged with. It only matters what you are convicted of. A disorderly persons charge is not a felony and only punishable by a maximum of 6 months in jail if I understand correctly. Therefore, this should not prohibit you from buying a firearm regardless of whether or not it was expunged or the date of expungement.

I am not a lawyer though.

It actually would appear to matter if he was under information or indictment for a state crime with a max penalty beyond 2 years jail while the PTI was in effect until it was satisfied (although I assume with the proper expungement procedures this does not need to be considered.) 18 USC 922(n):
(n) It shall be unlawful for any person who is under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce any firearm or ammunition or receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Your use of the word 'charged' was too ambiguous for me not to note this.

P.S. I look forward to 922(n) getting struck down some day on 2A + due-process + not-really-ICC-related grounds. It's a pretty pathetic attempt to reduce firearm access to people who are presumed innocent.

I'm sure the OP has paperwork from his whole court experience or can get it from his lawyer, where the actual statute implicated is cited and he can read the law and see if the penalty meets what he read about 'disorderly persons' statutes.

[max384]

It actually would appear to matter if he was under information or indictment for a state crime with a max penalty beyond 2 years jail while the PTI was in effect until it was satisfied (although I assume with the proper expungement procedures this does not need to be considered.) 18 USC 922(n):
(n) It shall be unlawful for any person who is under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce any firearm or ammunition or receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. Your use of the word 'charged' was too ambiguous for me not to note this.

P.S. I look forward to 922(n) getting struck down some day on 2A + due-process + not-really-ICC-related grounds. It's a pretty pathetic attempt to reduce firearm access to people who are presumed innocent.

I'm sure the OP has paperwork from his whole court experience or can get it from his lawyer, where the actual statute implicated is cited and he can read the law and see if the penalty meets what he read about 'disorderly persons' statutes.

That only applies between the time of indictment until the court's disposition though. In this case, he has already been sentenced, so 922(n) shouldn't apply to him. Am I missing something?

[MDJschool]

That only applies between the time of indictment until the court's disposition though. In this case, he has already been sentenced, so 922(n) shouldn't apply to him. Am I missing something?

http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/criminal/crpti.htm
If a defendant successfully completes all the conditions of PTI, then the original charges are dismissed and there is no record of conviction. If a defendant does not successfully complete the conditions of PTI, then the defendant is terminated from the PTI program and the case is returned to the trial list.

(In consideration of all the possibilities since the OP did not provide the most technical explanation of his scenario) What if the court fails to transmit the data on the dismissal or the central depository in NJ fails to correctly update their records? What if an expungment in NJ only hides a subset of the records generated from the time of a detainment?

I have seen ARD/DILOT/expungment failures from PA cause PA instant checks to become less instant or worse yet denied. I don't see any reason why NJ would not be subject to the same possibility, to cause an adverse affect to customers in PA trying to purchase firearms.

Of course, all the things above are probably not pertinent to OP if what he said was correct. But it didn't seem correct to me to say that 'it doesn't matter what you're charged with' as a general statement, so I tried to clarify.

[revelation9985]

http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/criminal/crpti.htm
If a defendant successfully completes all the conditions of PTI, then the original charges are dismissed and there is no record of conviction. If a defendant does not successfully complete the conditions of PTI, then the defendant is terminated from the PTI program and the case is returned to the trial list.

(In consideration of all the possibilities since the OP did not provide the most technical explanation of his scenario) What if the court fails to transmit the data on the dismissal or the central depository in NJ fails to correctly update their records? What if an expungment in NJ only hides a subset of the records generated from the time of a detainment?

I have seen ARD/DILOT/expungment failures from PA cause PA instant checks to become less instant or worse yet denied. I don't see any reason why NJ would not be subject to the same possibility, to cause an adverse affect to customers in PA trying to purchase firearms.

Of course, all the things above are probably not pertinent to OP if what he said was correct. But it didn't seem correct to me to say that 'it doesn't matter what you're charged with' as a general statement, so I tried to clarify.

This is how a expunged record works in NJ. The site to view this information is- http://www.njexpungements.com/faq.php

Q13. My convictions were expunged. Now I want to apply for a gun permit. Should I divulge those expunged matters on my firearms application?

A. No. In fact, questions on the official New Jersey Firearms Identification Card Application Form relating to past criminal convictions or arrests specifically exclude records that have been expunged or sealed. Your New Jersey expungement will also remove any federal firearms disability that arose on account of the New Jersey conviction. This follows from Title 18, Section 921(a)(20) of the United States Code. That provision states: "Any conviction which has been expunged...shall not be considered a conviction for purposes of this chapter, unless such...expungement...expressly provides that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms." Note that if you previously had a gun permit that was revoked, you would have to divulge that fact, even if the reason for the revocation was conviction for an offense that was later expunged.


As far as PA goes I dont know. I did receive the PTI and I completed it without incident. I will just have to call the PA State Police to get to the bottom of this?

[son of the revolution]

As far as PA goes I dont know. I did receive the PTI and I completed it without incident. I will just have to call the PA State Police to get to the bottom of this?

snip....................


NO !


NEVER trust the police to give accurate information or opinion about law !!


You can either run a backround check on yourself thru the NJSP like I explained earlier, or you can just go make a purchase and see what happens.

Based on everything you've already discovered yourself, I seriously doubt you have anything to worry about.

[wellcraft]

[B]. Im not looking for any guess work. B]

then you really ought to be asking this question to an attorney in PA familier with PA state gun laws instead of a discussion board.

[God's Country]

Sounds to me like you would have been good to go without the expungement.

[thundrr1]

Just go to a FFL and buy a pistol. You'll find out within 15 mins. I would recommend that you buy your shotgun used, face to face, after you buy your pistol. You don't need to buy a shotty thru an FFL. You can do it between the owner and yourself.

[Dragracer_Art]

We sometimes get a customer in the shop that wants to buy a gun, but is concerned about prior "baggage".

Instead of going through all the paperwork, only to get denied... (creating MORE paperwork) we suggest they take a ride in to the County courthouse to obtain a concealed carry permit. The permit process involves the same background check... but without the risk of possibly breaking another law by attempting to purchase a gun by a prohibited person. Obviously the permit process in some counties is a bit more difficult... but here in Berks it's pretty streamlined.

Just food for thought.

[Daycrawler]

We sometimes get a customer in the shop that wants to buy a gun, but is concerned about prior "baggage".

Instead of going through all the paperwork, only to get denied... (creating MORE paperwork) we suggest they take a ride in to the County courthouse to obtain a concealed carry licence. The licence process involves the same background check... but without the risk of possibly breaking another law by attempting to purchase a gun by a prohibited person. Obviously the licence process in some counties is a bit more difficult... but here in Berks it's pretty streamlined.

Just food for thought.

Fixed it for ya, before the licence police get at ya!