NAPPEN LAW FIRM WINS NON-RESIDENT CARRY LICENSE APPEAL
The Petitioner was denied for not being a "suitable person" due to an alleged 2003 conviction in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for Possession of a Class D Controlled Drug. The State maintained that the Department of Safety Administrative Rules prohibit the issuing of a permit if a person has been convicted of a misdemeanor drug offense less than 20 years from the date of their application.
The Concord District Court ruled that the State’s failed for two reasons. First, the State failed to meet its burden of proof, by clear and convincing evidence, that the Petitioner was convicted of the Possession charge.
Second, the State was unable to prove that there was a valid or rational basis for treating in- state and out-of-state residents differently with respect to disqualifiers for a License to Carry. The Court found that out-of-state residents are being treated differently than in-state residents with respect to the grounds used to grant or deny a License to Carry, and that there is no legitimate, articulable or rational basis to do so. Further, the Court found that the provision precluding the issuance of a license for an out of state resident based upon a misdemeanor conviction that would not be a disqualified for an in state resident is unreasonable on its face, and, unreasonable as applied to this Petitioner.
CONCORD, NH, October 2009. Due to a complaint filed by the Law Firm of E.F. Nappen, Attorney at Law, P.C. the New Hampshire Department of Safety has ordered an end to NICS checks prior to the return of confiscated firearms. According to the memo from Earl Sweeney, Assistant Commissioner, dated September 28th, 2009 (CLICK HERE to view memo), "Conducting NICS checks prior to returning confiscated firearms technically constitutes misuse of NICS and exceeds the authority granted to the Department of Safety by the NH Legislature. NICS checks can only be conducted for federally licensed importers, manufacturers, or dealers."
The complaint by the law firm was initiated after one of the firm's clients was going to be subjected to a NICS check before the return of firearms by the Manchester, NH Police Department. The law firm had also become aware of improper Superior Court use of NICS checks before returning seized firearms. Wrongful use of the State's Gun Line could potentially expose the State to liability under the Code of Federal Rules promulgated by the U.S. Justice Department, which authorizes a fine up to $10,000 and the ending of NICS check capabilities.
This new order benefits both gun owners and the State Gun Line. The Gun Line will no longer will be burdened with conducting unauthorized NICS checks, thereby speeding up the processing time for lawful gun purchasers. Additionally, citizens who are entitled to having their guns returned,will not be subjected to illegal NICS checks in which they could face a wrongful denial of their rights.
Craigslist Slaying Suspect Pleads Not Guilty - Gun Purchased In New Hampshire BOSTON -- A man suspected of being the "Craigslist Killer" pleaded not guilty Monday to first-degree murder and other charges.Philip Markoff, 23, entered the plea to seven charges related to three attacks during his arraignment in Suffolk Superior Court.Markoff is accused of shooting 25-year-old Julissa Brisman, of New York, at the Boston Marriott Copley Place hotel on April 14. He is also accused in connection with two other hotel robberies.Officials believe that there was a brief struggle between Markoff and Brisman, a masseuse who advertised on the "exotic services" section of the craigslist.org Web site, after they entered a room on the 20th floor of the hotel.Markoff was ordered held without bail.Prosecutors also revealed that the gun allegedly used in the killing was bought in New Hampshire with another man's driver's license."
The Boston Police Department's print unit recovered the defendant's fingerprints from the purchasing documents the defendant filled out when he purchased the gun under a false name in Mason, N.H., in February of 2009," said prosecutor Edmond Zabin. "On his person at the time of his arrest was the driver's license with that name, the name that he used to purchase the gun, the murder weapon, in February of this year."Residency Required For Gun Purchases It's unclear how Markoff might have used a New York license to buy a gun in New Hampshire. Under federal law, a gun can only be sold to a resident of that state.Buying a handgun in New Hampshire isn't complicated, but there are several safeguards in place. The process starts with filing out federal paperwork at a gun shop and providing proof of identity."They would go to the licensed gun dealer, someone that holds a federal firearms license, and that person would provide the dealer with some form of ID," said Sgt. Chris Scott of New Hampshire State Police. "The dealer would then take that information and provide that to the New Hampshire State Police Instant Gun Line."The person working the state police gun line runs a background check through criminal databases, which only takes a couple of minutes. The store is then told to approve, deny or delay the sale.Something like a felony conviction or domestic violence related arrest may mean the person is denied. A delay gives the state three days to verify whether any questions on a person's background should prevent them from buying the gun.Scott said police process between 50 and 60 such calls a day."We answer a number of phone calls all day long within the office that takes the gun line calls," he said. "There are a number of people that are denied, and there are a number of people that are approved."
Concord attorney Evan Nappen recently wrote a book called "New Hampshire Gun, Knife and Weapon Law." He said that while local dealers are required to only sell to New Hampshire residents, one section of federal law does allow for a purchase with an out-of-state picture identification, as long as that person can prove dual residency, meaning that they physically live at the local address for some period of time."Some of the things that could go to that is showing proof of residency, like a utility bill, and then you may have deeds, etc., whatever is going to meet that standard," Nappen said.If it were later proven that despite showing proof of having local residency, the gun buyer never lived at the location, felony charges could be filed.Officials said another way a gun can be legally purchased by an out-of-state resident is the gun can be sent to another licensed dealer in another state, but the same background checks would apply, as well as any other laws of that state.
