Atlanta Gun Charges Lawyers
If you have been charged with gun-related crimes in the State of Georgia, you need to respond to these serious charges immediately.
If you are convicted of gun crimes, you may be facing decades in prison and lose your right to bear arms. High sentences are typical for gun charges because they are often tacked on to other charges. You need immediate legal advice to navigate your interactions with law enforcement and assistance to prepare for court.
For the past 70 years, the lawyers of Garland, Samuel & Loeb have displayed a commitment to vigorously defending those accused of serious crimes such as firearm charges. To this day, our lawyers strongly adhere to our commitment to tenacious advocacy for our clients in the southeastern United States and beyond. Contact us for a free consultation.
While you wait to hear back from our law office, you may want to learn more about Georgia’s gun laws or the federal laws that may affect your case. The information below may provide you with some important facts.
What Do I Need to Know about My Gun Charges?
Georgia has several laws regarding the possession of weapons. Some are misdemeanor charges, but many carry serious penalties.
Laws like Section 16-11-123 ban the unlawful possession of firearms or weapons. This law makes it a criminal offense to be in possession of a sawed-off shotgun, sawed-off rifle, machine gun, dangerous weapon, or silencer. If convicted, you can be imprisoned for five years.
Dangerous weapons, as described in the list above, means any weapon commonly known as a “rocket launcher,” “bazooka,” or “recoilless rifle” which fires explosive or nonexplosive rockets designed to injure or kill personnel or destroy heavy armor, or similar weapon used for these purposes.
In Georgia, “felon in possession” is usually an additional charge that is added when a felon is arrested for a different crime and is found to have possessed a firearm. Gun charges raise the stakes of the criminal case considerably. For example:
Punishment for the gun possession charge is added consecutively to any punishment for the underlying offense.
In federal court, possession of a firearm can be used as an enhancement under the federal sentencing guidelines, which would make the accused ineligible for a prison sentence below the mandatory minimum.
Possession of a gun during the commission of a felony can make the underlying charge more serious. For example, converting an assault into an aggravated assault.
You could be subject to the Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984, which provides sentence enhancements for felons who commit crimes with firearms.
How We Create a Solid Gun Charge Defense Case and Fight for You
Our gun lawyers have the skill and determination to pursue your case's legal and factual issues aggressively.
For example, possession of the weapon has to be “knowing possession”, meaning if the gun was in your car, the prosecutor has to prove that you knew it was there. If you lacked knowledge that the gun was in your possession, then your act is not considered intentional.
If someone else was in your car with you, the prosecutor has to prove that you were in possession of the gun, and not the other person. The gun evidence can be suppressed if the search and seizure were unlawful.
Sometimes, you may be a victim of mistaken identity. Both police and witnesses can make mistakes and identify incorrect individuals. This defense benefits from a very strongly documented alibi, but when one exists, it may be possible to have the charges dropped before you even go to trial.
There are many other ways to call the state’s gun crime evidence into question. Our defense lawyers may seek to demonstrate that the state violated your rights while collecting the evidence against you. We may also attack a lack of evidence when it exists or question whether you were charged with the right offense.
Before your trial, it may be possible to have your charges dismissed or reduced. If your case goes to trial, we will represent you in court as your trial lawyers.
We have argued cases involving most weapon crimes in Georgia and have experience keeping weapons violations off our clients’ criminal records.
FAQs About Gun Laws in Georgia
If you need to know more about gun charges, the following questions and answers may help. It’s important to remember that these answers are no substitute for legal advice. You’ll need to explain your situation to one of our criminal defense attorneys to get advice relevant to your situation.
How much time is a gun charge in Georgia?
The amount of jail or prison time you may be facing depends on the charge you are facing. For some gun-related felony offenses, you may be facing 20 years or more in prison due to the combination of multiple charges. Charges can be combined in many ways, so you’ll need to discuss your case with a lawyer to understand the time you face.
Can you own a gun with a misdemeanor battery charge in Georgia?
Federal law forbids anyone who is convicted of a family violence or domestic violence crime from possessing a firearm. Georgia misdemeanors and felony crimes can both count as these types of charges.
Contact Our Team of Gun Charge Attorneys
As Atlanta’s firearm defense firm, we do everything possible to protect our clients when they face weapon charges in Georgia. Our law firm has experience with many types of weapons charges, including those that involve owning a weapon as a convicted felon, concealed weapons, silencers, handguns, and weapons that might be characterized as machine guns.
To learn more about how we can help you, you’ll need to help us understand your situation. You can have all of your questions answered in a free consultation. Get started today by leaving your information on our gun charges contact form.
