Legal Question in Criminal Law in Wisconsin

The BATF says I was not convicted of a MCDV if?

The BATF says I was not convicted of a qualifying misdemeanor count of domestic violence if I was not represented by counsel unless I knowingly and intelligently waived my right to counsel. This is my case, not only did I not have a lawyer but the Assistant DA lied to me or just did not know and said if I plead guilty I would get my gun rights back after probation in 1 year so I had to give up my guns and when I applied to buy a gun 4 years after my probation ended I found out I am banned for life due to federal law, does this mean I did not intelligently waive my right to counsel because I was lied to and not only that but since my wife left me for another guy a month before my visit with the Assistant DA I was on a whole pile of antidepressants that I never took before that made me weird and not myself. What I am trying to say is if I was not lied to about my future gun rights and I was not on antidepressants I would have surely went with a lawyer. How do I find out if the BATF considers that my case is considered NOT a qualifying conviction based on their rule mentioned above and do I need a lawyer for this? Thank you so much.


Asked on 4/18/09, 10:55 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
JAY Nixon nixon law offices

Firearms Prohibitions Due to Domestic Violence Related Convictions

Firearms Prohibitions Due to Domestic Violence Related Convictions

In my experience, the ATF and FBI are quite aggressive in adding persons to their list of those banned from firearms possession, sometimes based upon little legal authority. Bans can occur if a person has ever been subject to a commitment for psychiatric are, for any sort of domestic violence situation (regardless of how the conviction was officially labeled) and for other more mysterious reasons. Once a person is placed on the banned list, they are rarely removed without federal court litigation, a very expensive process. There are many levels of appeal to go through administratively before one even gets into the court system as well as numerous time limits which expire, causing one to loss his appeal. One option might be to attempt to reopen your underlying conviction, but that is extremely difficult after a change of plea. Denial of one's right to counsel is one ground for a motion to reopen, but far from a sure thing because judges usually make a good record as to waiver of counsel. My comments here are of a general nature and not intended as legal advice for you unless you subsequently retain me; you really need to locate and consult with your own attorney.

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Answered on 4/19/09, 10:21 am


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