How to Beat a Gun Charge in NJ - Adam M. Lustberg

From Lustberg Law Offices, LLC - How to Beat a Gun Charge in NJ explains how defending against a gun charge in New Jersey often begins with challenging how law enforcement obtained evidence and identifying legal strategies that fit the facts. The blog highlights common defenses such as illegal search and seizure, lack of knowledge or intent, statutory exemptions, and negotiation for reduced charges, while emphasizing that New Jersey gun laws can trigger mandatory prison exposure under the Graves Act.

The blog focuses heavily on suppression issues under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, especially when firearms are discovered during traffic stops. It discusses New Jersey’s automobile exception requirements, including probable cause and the need for circumstances that are unforeseeable and spontaneous, and explains how a motion to suppress can remove key evidence. It also describes challenges to the initial traffic stop, including whether an officer had a lawful basis such as a traffic violation or reasonable suspicion, and notes how dashcam footage, body camera recordings, and police reports can be reviewed to test the officer’s stated justification.

How to Beat a Gun Charge in NJ also covers fact-based defenses tied to possession rules, including arguments that a person did not knowingly possess a firearm when it is found in a shared vehicle, residence, or container such as a glove compartment, bag, or under a seat. The post addresses narrow statutory exemptions under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-6, including transport rules that generally require the firearm to be unloaded and secured in a closed and locked case, gunbox, securely tied package, or locked in the trunk, with travel limited to what the exemption allows and only reasonably necessary deviations.

Finally, the blog breaks down the Graves Act and how it affects sentencing under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(c), including mandatory minimum prison terms and parole ineligibility for certain firearm offenses such as unlawful possession charges under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(a), (b), (c), and (f). It explains when a Graves Act waiver under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.2 may be pursued for first-time offenders, what prosecutors and courts may consider, and how probation and PTI can come into play in limited situations, including scenarios involving out-of-state residents referenced in the New Jersey Attorney General’s 2014 Graves Act Clarification.

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