The defense of firearms charges requires deep familiarity with the constitutional landscape — particularly search and seizure law. Firearms discovered during unconstitutional traffic stops or unlawful searches may be suppressible. The lawful scope of a search, whether consent was genuinely voluntary, and whether the circumstances of a discovery satisfied the requirements for a warrantless search are all potentially dispositive questions in firearms cases.
Suppression of the firearm often ends the case. This is why a defense attorney’s skill in identifying and arguing Fourth Amendment issues is so critical in firearms matters.
A Word for Law-Abiding Gun Owners
We want to speak specifically to the many law-abiding, responsible gun owners who find themselves facing firearms charges not because of any criminal intent, but because of a misunderstanding of the law’s requirements or an administrative error.
Massachusetts firearms law is genuinely complex. The mandatory minimum sentences attached to some violations mean that a technical violation — failing to update a license address, possessing a firearm in a category that turns out to require a different license, a procedural failure in a transfer — can result in mandatory incarceration that seems wildly disproportionate to the actual conduct.
These cases deserve vigorous defense precisely because the human cost of the mandatory minimums can be devastating to otherwise law-abiding people — and because there are often factual and legal arguments available that can change the outcome. The mandatory minimum does not mean a conviction is inevitable. It means that if there is a conviction, the consequences are severe. That distinction is exactly why experienced representation matters so much.
Milligan & Higgins is a premier OUI and criminal defense firm in Massachusetts, with over forty years of collective experience. If you or a loved one is facing criminal charges, we are here to help.
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Contact Milligan & Higgins for a free consultation or second opinion. Please send us an email: Intake@milliganhiggins.com or call 781-878-1231.
