Restoration of firearm rights

[good_2]

I was wondering if anyone could tell me if I was convicted of a Felony 26 years ago when I was 19 can I go before a judge to ask to have my Civil Rights restored? I have found info. that says I can do this, but when I talk to Lawyers in the area they all tell me they never heard of any such thing. My Felony did not involve any Victim and the arresting Officer is now sitting in Prison for molesting four young girls while he was on duty. Therefore, there would be nobody involved in the case that could oppose my restoration of my rights. I am not looking to have the charge expunged or Pardoned, I know that is pretty much impossible. I am simply looking to have my civil rights Restored which basically consist of being able to sit on a jury and being able to carry a firearm. I automatically got the right to vote back five years after the conviction.
Pennsylvania State Court

[Curmudgeon]

In which state did the felony occur, and was it a state court or federal court?

And yes, you've been talking to the wrong lawyers.

[good_2]

it was a state court in Pennsylvania.

[Curmudgeon]

Then the process, as I understand it (and I am NOT a lawyer), you first get a lawyer with a record of doing this successfully, then try for a pardon from the governor, and if that is successful, try for an expungement.

That is the process for a restoration of your rights. Send a PM to Gunlawyer001 here on this forum. He's in eastern PA but might be able to help you. It would at least be a good start.

[knight0334]

A simple state restoration will not work. Since the conviction would be still on your record you would still be prohibited federally.

You would need to have the conviction set aside or reversed, or get a pardon. Then after that you would need to get the charges and/or conviction expunged.

You cannot expunge convictions higher than summary and a few misdemeanors in PA. ...well, unless it is pardoned or you get to 70 years or so old(or somewhere around that age).

I highly recommend getting a lawyer to deal with a pardon and expungement. The pardon is typically a one attempt thing. If you don't write the instrument/application properly, don't have all your ducks in a row, etc, etc - they will deny it. And once denied, you're pretty much blackballed from there on out. You already have one of the hurdles behind you - a lengthy time period between the present and the conviction.

[good_2]

I appreciate the advice. Unfortunately, I am realizing what I already suspected, I would need an Attorney to follow through with this just like pretty much anything Court related and unless I hit the Lottery I do not see myself ever being able to pay an Attorney to take care of this. I guess I was more or less hoping that I could take care of it myself, because the fact of the matter is if I can't it will just simply be something I can never address. From what I figure, this would be a fairly lengthy process , on top of that there doesn't seem to be many Attorneys that deal with this type of matter which would mean the few that do can charge that much more due to it being a specialty. It would most likely cost between $5,000-$10,000 before it was all said and done and I am not a Wealthy enough man to be able to afford that. That is the amount of money I spend on a necessity such as a car which I get a Bank loan and pay it off over five years. Banks do not give $10,000 loans for a person to get their Rights restored....

[GunLawyer001]

Send me a PM, if you're not in a hurry, we could work something out. Time is your friend here, the longer you wait and stay clean, the better your chances.

BTW, since the Pardon hearings are in Harrisburg, I handle Pardons throughout the state.

[t1066]

I would strongly recommend you follow up on this, good 2. GL's rates aren't that expensive, and you would be in good hands.

[good_2]

Well, if what Knight says is true it would be a waste of my time as I already tried to apply for a Pardon through the Governors Office about 8 year ago and it is so involved and lengthy that they make it pretty much impossible. You have to remember every single issue about your entire life, every address, every phone number, every person you ever came in contact with, every place you ever worked, any time you ever picked your nose or scratched your ass.... You have to have people such as Clergy + Mother Theresa come forward to say how great of a person you are and how you have turned your life around so much that now Angels fly over your head... Believe me, it is extremely involved and exhausting. So, if getting a Pardon and/or expungment is the only way to get my rights back it is a waste of my time + money.
Again, if money wasn't an issue I would give it a shot, but I usually have trouble finding enough money to pay for necessities such as car, insurance, rent, food.... let alone finding money to throw at a situation that it would most likely make no difference in my situation any way... That money is no where to be found. All it would do is make a frustrating situation even worst after I spend $5,000 - $10,000 and the problem still ends up being exactly the same...
This is most likely the reason there isn't many attorneys that have experience with this type of matter. It would be kind of difficult to tell a client,"It is going to cost you $5,000 - $10,000, take me one or two years and there is no guarantee that when it's all said + done your situation will be any different than what it currently is". You see what I mean? And if a person has that kind of money that they can afford thousands of dollars to just gamble on a roll of the dice, they most likely wouldn't be in the situation in the first place as their money could have bought them out of the problem + a good Attorney in the first place.... I don't know, it's hard to explain to someone if they haven't walked a mile in my shoes. I do not look at the Government as being My Government, I view the Government as my Enemy that belongs to Wealthy Folks and circles of an Establishment I have no involvement with.

[knight0334]

Well, if what Knight says is true it would be a waste of my time as I already tried to apply for a Pardon through the Governors Office about 8 year ago and it is so involved and lengthy that they make it pretty much impossible. You have to remember every single issue about your entire life, every address, every phone number, every person you ever came in contact with, every place you ever worked, any time you ever picked your nose or scratched your ass.... You have to have people such as Clergy + Mother Theresa come forward to say how great of a person you are and how you have turned your life around so much that now Angels fly over your head... Believe me, it is extremely involved and exhausting. So, if getting a Pardon and/or expungment is the only way to get my rights back it is a waste of my time + money.
Again, if money wasn't an issue I would give it a shot, but I usually have trouble finding enough money to pay for necessities such as car, insurance, rent, food.... let alone finding money to throw at a situation that it would most likely make no difference in my situation any way... That money is no where to be found. All it would do is make a frustrating situation even worst after I spend $5,000 - $10,000 and the problem still ends up being exactly the same...

Did you actually submit the application/petition for review? If so, the 1-try thing isn't a hardened rule, it just happens to be what is typical.

Give Phil(GunLawy001) a call. He knows his shit, isn't judgmental, and from what I've heard has some decent rates. Let him review your situation..