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Legal question......

01chally

New member
Joined
Feb 5, 2011
Messages
4
Location
Arizona
Ok, in 1995 I was charged and convicted with 3 counts of grand theft firearm, 1 count of grand theft and 1 count of armed burglary. Basically I was 15 and 2 other friends and I went into a girlfriends house and stole 3 guns. Well like I said I was a juvenile and in the final sentencing docs it says "Adjudicated delinquent" Now in 98 I was charged and adjudication withheld (I was 18) on a felony sex offense. My gf was 15 and state pushed charges. Now yrs later ( I am 32) I want to purchase a handgun. Here are my questions...

1- why are the juvenile felonies showing up on any background check?
2- do those juvenile convictions affect my ability to have a handgun?
3- Does my Adjudication withheld as an adult allow me to bypass federal rule #1-A person who has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year or any state offense classified by the state as a misdemeanor and is punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than two years. ???

Now the federal rule doesn't say only adult stuff, it says "A person" so I'm worried my juvenile stuff is affecting everything.

PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Last edited:

CalicoJack10

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Messages
559
Location
Arbor Vitae
1- why are the juvenile felonies showing up on any background check?
2- do those juvenile convictions affect my ability to have a handgun?
3- Does my Adjudication withheld as an adult allow me to bypass federal rule #1-A person who has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year or any state offense classified by the state as a misdemeanor and is punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than two years. ???

Now the federal rule doesn't say only adult stuff, it says "A person" so I'm worried my juvenile stuff is affecting everything.

PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

You are prohibited from owning a gun. In accordance with the instructions on the ATF purchase document (Form 4473) Question 11b, there is no distinction for when (At what age) the felony was committed. The instructions for 11b clearly state that any person that has been convicted of a felony, or any other crime, punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, is considered a "Prohibited Person".

The Adjudication as a delinquent has no bearing at all in this context, no matter if it was withheld or not.

So to answer your question NO, you can not ever legally own a gun. This will hold especially true if you apply for reprieve for prior convictions that are firearms based. Since you were convicted of theft of a firearm (Again, age does not matter) you will not get that overturned to allow you to own a gun. Furthermore, if you do end up with a firearm and are caught with it, and the investigation into your background shows this conviction, you will get charged with the federal laws pertaining to "Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon".
 

eye95

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
13,524
Location
Fairborn, Ohio, USA
Ok, in 1995 I was charged and convicted with 3 counts of grand theft firearm, 1 count of grand theft and 1 count of armed burglary. Basically I was 15 and 2 other friends and I went into a girlfriends house and stole 3 guns. Well like I said I was a juvenile and in the final sentencing docs it says "Adjudicated delinquent" Now in 98 I was charged and adjudication withheld (I was 18) on a felony sex offense. My gf was 15 and state pushed charges. Now yrs later ( I am 32) I want to purchase a handgun. Here are my questions...

1- why are the juvenile felonies showing up on any background check?
2- do those juvenile convictions affect my ability to have a handgun?
3- Does my Adjudication withheld as an adult allow me to bypass federal rule #1-A person who has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year or any state offense classified by the state as a misdemeanor and is punishable by a term of imprisonment of more than two years. ???

Now the federal rule doesn't say only adult stuff, it says "A person" so I'm worried my juvenile stuff is affecting everything.

PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Get a lawyer. No one on this board can possibly answer your questions with the authority of a lawyer, except one of the few lawyers who post here, and I don't know how wise it would be for them to dispense legal advice on a message board.

Anyway, some folks here can give you some ideas, but you will ultimately need an attorney either to start the process of to tell you that there is no way that you will ever legally own a gun.

I gotta say though, if I were an official determining whether to take some action that would restore your right, I'd be very hesitant. You'd have to establish for me beyond even the tiniest of doubt that you currently bear no resemblance to the person you were when you were committing crimes.
 

CalicoJack10

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Messages
559
Location
Arbor Vitae
Get a lawyer. No one on this board can possibly answer your questions with the authority of a lawyer, except one of the few lawyers who post here, and I don't know how wise it would be for them to dispense legal advice on a message board.

Anyway, some folks here can give you some ideas, but you will ultimately need an attorney either to start the process of to tell you that there is no way that you will ever legally own a gun.

I gotta say though, if I were an official determining whether to take some action that would restore your right, I'd be very hesitant. You'd have to establish for me beyond even the tiniest of doubt that you currently bear no resemblance to the person you were when you were committing crimes.

+1

Thanks for reminding me to put that in my posts.
 

01chally

New member
Joined
Feb 5, 2011
Messages
4
Location
Arizona
Thanks

Well for 1 I was a juvenile when I got into trouble with guns and I called the FBI NICS unit and they said juvenile convictions do NOT count but every state has prohibitors and depending on my state I'd have to look into their laws. 2- I am 32 and I'm not worried about illegally getting a firearm. I am an upstanding person with a wife and family and I don't need to know the consequences of doing illegal acts. I don't go around breaking the law. 3- as far as someone determining if I should be allowed a gun, I was 15 and we took a guys guns and buried them in his yard. We weren't a bunch of thugs out packing heat! As far as my sexual charge, I was 17 and it was my 1st girlfriend who was 15. I turned 18 before she turned 16 and the state filed charges. I am not even a sexual offender, those requirements were lifted after the Romeo and Juliet act became law in fl.

Thanks for the info though and I'll get a lawyer. I should not be punished for juvenile stuff or charges for which I was not convicted (under fl law )
 

01chally

New member
Joined
Feb 5, 2011
Messages
4
Location
Arizona
Update....

I just called the ATF and they said that a juvenile conviction does not count on the 4473 so I will call a lawyer Monday and confirm that my juvenile convictions were not transferred to adult because they pop up during a back ground check. I have the appeal process started with FBI so I'll see what happens. If you happen to be a lawyer licensed in fl let me know
 
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