JerseyMike
Active Member
do the people who get arrested for illegally carrying a firearm end up getting a guilty plea on a lesser charge? Is it often or less often a charge that turns them into a prohibited person if they were not already?
If they plead guilty it will almost always be to a lesser charge. The state will generally “overcharge” an individual initially, meaning they will bring any feasible charges against them, regardless of the strength/chances of success on those charges. Then the state will offer a plea to lesser charges to entice the defendant to accept the plea in order to: (1) get a guaranteed conviction; (2) move on to the next case. Many defense attorneys then lean on their client to accept the first plea that comes along, selling it as “you could face all of this but if you take this great deal now you’ll only face x”.
Defendants *generally* have no incentive to accept a plea to the harshest penalty offenses laid out in the charging document. There are exceptions, but most would roll the dice and go to trial rather than plea out to the harshest offense just to get the acceptance of responsibility sentencing credit.
If a firearm is involved the state will generally seek a plea that will make the defendant a “disqualified person” moving forward. Why wouldn’t the state seek to make them a disqualified person? If the facts surrounding the gun are really bad for the state. Examples: the police seize a firearm due to what will almost certainly be determined an illegal search, or it is a very weak constructive possession case. If the defendant is already a prohibited person they generally could care less about it and that doesn’t even calculate into their decision-making process for a plea.