My friend is in Trouble in NJ

[soberbyker]

Should save this thread for all the "I'm from NJ can I carry in PA" threads, although different circumstances the outcome would be the same if found out while on the NJ part of the to/from.

.

[God's Country]

^^this

IANAL - but anyone here will tell you there are several states to avoid like the plague with firearms, NJ is somewhere at the top of that list.

You would be amazed how many people, especially in rural areas such as mine, think their ltcf allows them to bring their gun over state lines.
Myself and my gf have told numerous people over the years that they cannot do that and they are usually surprised to discover this. I live close to the NY border, and just about 6 months ago my gf was still attending a school in NY.
The discussion of why she had pepper spray came up and one of the girls produced her pistol from her purse....while in NY. She gasped and told her why she couldn't do that. She and her husband had been doing this for years....not anymore. IIRC she had to tell a couple others that were doing the same thing.

Guns around here are no big deal, and over in bordering NY unrestricted NY permits are issued routinely, so many (myself included) know lots of NY residents that carry, (and of course carry illegally in Pa). I'm surprised I don't hear of people getting pinched in NY.

[PaGunner]

If your boss goes for a Miranda Warning challenge, if valid then any information obtained after the failure may be suppressed i.e. a confession. Some people think Miranda Rights have to be read as soon as you are arrested, but this isn't an episode of Cops. The Miranda Warning must be given prior to being interrogated by police. The police have the right to talk to anyone on the street and ask questions, this is not an interrogation. The problem is your boss called and admitted to police that a gun was stolen out of his truck (If I understand what you're saying).

Now if the Miranda issue doesn't hold up his next plan of attack should focus around the gun. I would say that it was locked in the glove box, but if he admitted to it being loaded he is SOL. It's pretty hard to throw out an admission especially when he took the initiative to call the police.

If I were him I would take a jury trial, it's much easier to persuade 1 of 12 than 1 of 1 (Judge).

Your boss could take another approach as well. That would be that NJ Law violates the 2nd Amend and the Privileges and Immunities clause. Although Slaughterhouse rendered the P&I clause null and void. Clarence Thomas wrote in his concurring opinion in McDonald v. Chicago that his colleagues were right to overturn the ban through incorporation of the Bill of Rights through the 14th Amend. Thomas however believed that the 2nd Amend applied to the states through the P&I clause. This is a long shot and would require the case to reach the SCOTUS for a final decision, but if I were your boss I would fight tooth and nail over this or else he's got some hard time ahead of him.

Regardless make sure he gets a not good but GREAT attorney, one that is Pro-2A and not afraid to take on a lengthy trial. Who knows this could be the case that breaks NJ’s draconian gun laws.

This is just my $.02 as I sit here in the "office" on a beautiful Saturday morning.

[Keystone.45]

Sorry to hear that. A productive member of society is going to be spending months - if not years - in prison due to ignorance of NJ's asinine gun laws. There's really nothing more to say, other than hopefully other people see this and don't make the same mistakes your boss did.

[mbinpa]

New Jersey is a state that arrests out of state LEOs for carrying.

I sanitize my vehicles before I cross the line - not weapons, no ammo, not even any targets.

I think he might be in trouble.

[Keystone.45]

Regardless make sure he gets a not good but GREAT attorney...

^^^^ THIS!

One more thing, since something similar happened to a friend of mine several years ago. Long story short, the DA told him if he pled guilty to all the charges (mistake, because my friend had a bad lawyer) he would ask the judge for leniency and he would likely just get probation. At sentencing the DA reneged and demanded the judge throw the book at him. My friend did almost a year in a NJ state prison and is now a felon (no longer a gun owner). NJ sucks.

[God's Country]

If I were him I would take a jury trial, it's much easier to persuade 1 of 12 than 1 of 1 (Judge).

That’s the problem though. Wasn’t Atkin’s sentence related to a relatively new NJ law that treats firearm infractions, related at least to handguns, to a minimum sentence regardless if the gun was or wasn’t used in the participation of the crime?
I know a stupid judge help steer the jury in that direction, but still I think their hands were tied.

I think this guy has to hope for a very, very smart jury that understands jury nullification to get off the hook, unless some miracle is looming.

I hope I'm wrong.

[K.C.]

.
The Gun is no where to be found.

HYPOTHETICAL...

LAWYER: "Your honor my client must have lost it somewhere in PA and thought his old lady stuck in the glove box. That's why he erroneously reported it stolen in NJ."

[thefirstndsecond]

Ahhh what is the charge for having the gun?

misdemeanor? or felony?

gang people get away with it why wouldn't your boss?

By the way.. traveling from NJ to PA to shoot at a range, or hunt, or compete ... you guys need to really know how this one works...

Man.. there are circuits for clay shooting in NJ that go into PA... I know it is legal when I travel... NJ is not all illegal... as people make it out to be.

[RandomTask]

HYPOTHETICAL...

LAWYER: "Your honor my client must have lost it somewhere in PA and thought his old lady stuck in the glove box. That's why he erroneously reported it stolen in NJ."

Yup. Aside from taking the gun with him in the first place, reporting it stolen at the casino was the biggest mistake. He should have just quietly slipped back to PA, never to return to Albania... um, New Jersey.