A client came to me because he could not renew the Firearms Identification Card (FID) that he has had for over 30 years.

In his youth, he had broken a window. He was charged with Breaking and Entering to commit a larceny. When he went to court, they told him that if he pleaded guilty that he would only have to pay for the window, and nothing else would happen. What they didn’t tell him was that he was pleading guilty to a felony. After five years went by, he was able to get an FID and go hunting. He was an avid hunter for over 30 years.

When Massachusetts changed the gun laws in 2015, they did away with the five year rights restoration for many convictions. Because of this change, my client was unable to renew his FID, and all of his hunting rifles were confiscated by the police.

We brought the case forward and explained to the judge that he had inadequate legal representation when he was arraigned, and that if he had adequate representation, he would not have pleaded guilty to a felony at his first court appearance. The judge agreed and vacated the conviction.

He applied for, and recently received, a License to Carry (LTC)