Defending Bucks County Gun Charges 

Some common defense information that could be used against gun charges include attacking the probable cause, readable suspicion for an individual’s original stop, the confiscation of the firearm, and whether the gun was on the person, vehicle, or their home or work.

Under those circumstances, the prosecution must establish probable cause and the defense can challenge the probable cause. When defending Bucks County gun charges, probable cause to obtain the firearm and possession can be used. In order to build a strong defense, it is important for a skilled gun attorney to be contacted quickly.

Definition of a Gun

A firearm, by definition,  has the potential to extract a projectile with some sort of firing mechanism from an alleged firearm. That firearm is any such object capable of dispelling a projection that has a barrel length of under 20 inches. Should an alleged firearm have a barrel length of over 20 inches, it is not defined as a firearm in Pennsylvania. In these cases, the alleged firearms are considered rifles or shotguns and do not require a license to carry in any locations outside of the city and county of Philadelphia.

Evidence

An individual should bring all relevant facts to an attorney who can use the evidence to develop a strategy for defending a Bucks County gun charge.

Any hard evidence, physical, videos, medical records, any eyewitnesses, names, is relevant in providing an ample defense. Providing the information to a knowledgeable attorney ensures that the evidence will not be lost.

Should the matter go to trial after an extended period of time, the evidence will be preserved in such a way that it is readily available to an individual at the time of their defense. Evidence is important in defending a Bucks County gun charge.

Building a Defense

The details of an individual’s arrest come into play when determining what the appropriate defense should be. An individual must work with their attorney in developing a defense through the use of hard evidence such as video evidence, email, texting, social media evidence, fingerprint experts, DNA experts, or gun powder residue.

The most common defenses in gun-use cases involve self-defense and the defense of others. In other cases, defending Bucks County gun charges might include possession and constructive possession along with constitutional search grounds in order to retrieve the right evidence.

Diversion Agreement

A diversionary program is a program which allows an individual to not plead guilty to any particular charge. It is a court diverting the case away from specific criminal penalties and allowing the individual - because of their record or their lack of a record – to do court stipulated actions such as community service, gun training courses, and domestic violence cases, domestic violence training, et cetera. Upon completion of the condition set forth by the prosecution, their own defense attorney, as well as the courts, a person has the ability to have their record expunged.

In Bucks County, it is relatively rare to have a person charged with a gun offense take part in a diversionary program. A gun charge is too serious in Bucks County to be considered for the diversionary program as a defense strategy. Diversionary programs are usually saved used for charges below felonies.

Hiring an Attorney

The complex laws and the defenses that go along with gun charges are not something that an individual without experience should be handling on their own. The nuances of a firearm and the definition of firearms, as defined by Pennsylvania crimes code, can vary under certain circumstances.

The cases in which an individual could be arrested and convicted for a firearm that does not meet the 6106 or 6108 definitions of firearm in the Pennsylvania crimes code can be summarily dismissed. There are other issues as well that the average person might not understand. For example, if firearms are not relevant to a case in an alleged crime, the accused legally possessed the firearm, there is no evidence that the firearm was used during the commission of that crime or the accused crime, then the firearm should not come into play when defending a Buck’s County gun charge.