Based in Albany, we handle weapons cases in
the greater Capital Region:
Member: National Rifle Association,
New York State Rifle and Pistol Association
Listed on
the Shooter's Bar.
New York Penal Law Article 265 covers criminal offenses related to weapons possession.
Section 265.01, an A misdemeanor, is the lowest level offense in Article 265. It covers a variety of situations, such as brass knuckles and martial arts weapons like shuriken stars. The list of weapons is specific and if the weapon involved is not on the list, we should be able to get the case dismissed.
The most frequent cases we see under this section involve out-of-state clients who bring pistols into New York State. In the typical case, our client flew into Albany Airport from their home state. They checked their pistol properly under FAA regulations. They arrive in Albany, go about their business here, and return to the airport for their flight home. They start the procedure for checking the handgun, again following FAA regulations. At this point someone from the airline or the TSA calls a deputy sheriff over and our client is arrested for possessing a pistol without a pistol license.
For most of these clients we are able to negotiate a reduction to a non-criminal offense. We also can usually help the client get their gun back, but this can take months. In nearly all of these cases we can handle things without our client having to come back to Colonie Town Court. Our fee for this is $1000, plus an additional $500 if the client wants us to try to get the weapon back.
Someday we hope to find a client who wants to challenge the law as unconstitutional. We believe it is unconstitutional because there is no way under New York law for someone from another state to get a pistol license in New York. Penal Law Section 400 only allows residents of New York State to get a license. Also, the way in which the law is enforced at the airport is nonsensical - arresting the person on their way out of the state doesn't seem like a good way to protect the public from dangerous firearms. Fighting these issues would be expensive. Understandably, none of our clients has taken us up on it so far, even though we would do it at a significant discount. Our fee to fight these issues in local court is $5000, and the client may have to come to Court multiple times. A trial, if necessary, would cost more. We can also challenge the law in federal court, but this would cost at least $10,000.
Penal Law Sections 265.02, 265.03, and 265.04 are felonies. These generally involve weapons perceived to be more dangerous, large numbers of weapons, an intent to use the weapon(s) against someone else, or cases where the defendant has a previous criminal conviction. For most clients in such cases, the goal is to negotiate a reduction to a lesser offense. Our fee in such cases is at least $5000 up front, and may exceed $10,000 up front depending on the circumstances. This does not include the cost of a trial if one becomes necessary.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
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888-733-5299
255 Washington Ave Ext., Suite 108, Albany, NY, 12205
Fax: 518-862-1551 wredlich@gmail.com
The Redlich Law Firm
©2009 Warren Redlich, Esq. |
