Practice Areas

Gun Crimes

Even though Wisconsin’s gun laws are con­tin­u­ing to change, state and fed­er­al author­i­ties still pros­e­cute a large num­ber of cas­es of ille­gal firearm pos­ses­sion. Most peo­ple know that fed­er­al law pro­hibits pos­ses­sion of a firearm by any­one with a felony con­vic­tion. But did you know that it is ille­gal to pos­sess a firearm if you have been con­vict­ed of a domes­tic vio­lence mis­de­meanor – even if it was dis­or­der­ly con­duct con­vic­tion from a shout­ing match between hus­band and wife. Fed­er­al law also pro­hibits pos­ses­sion of a firearm by ille­gal aliens, or by those who have been dis­hon­or­ably dis­charged from mil­i­tary ser­vice, or by ille­gal drug users. Know­ing­ly pro­vid­ing a firearm to a “pro­hib­it­ed per­son” is also a fed­er­al crime – so don’t even think about invit­ing your old bud­dies on a hunt­ing trip if you think they may have been con­vict­ed of a crime in the past.

The U.S. Supreme Court recent­ly declared that the right to pos­sess a firearm is a fun­da­men­tal right. But that rul­ing may not help most peo­ple who are accused of ille­gal pos­ses­sion. Chal­leng­ing police search­es and seizures con­tin­ues to be an impor­tant defense tool. Estab­lish­ing oth­er defens­es – like neces­si­ty or self-defense – require expe­ri­ence, good judg­ment, and hard work.

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