When somebody pleads guilty to a felony or other certain crimes, the courts will make them fill out what I refer to as gun form, which is basically pursuant to California Proposition 63. Everybody has to fill that form out and indicate whether or not they have any guns registered to them or any guns in their possession.

This is a very dangerous Proposition because I've actually had a couple of clients fill it out and they forgot that they had a couple of guns registered to them many years ago. You've already pled guilty then put on probation for example or have been sent to prison. But the probation is a problem because you can violate your probation for filling that form out incorrectly and obviously, that's not fair. So, what a lot of criminal defense attorneys are doing — including myself in some cases — are just advising clients not to fill the form out.

Search Warrant to Discover Guns in Your Home

That has ramifications as well, because if you don't fill that form out and the court gets the information back from the probation department after they run you to see if you have any guns registered in your name in Los Angeles county, if you pop up with some guns, the Judge will send the probation officer to your home to execute a warrant to find out if there's any guns there.

They'll just do the search pursuant to you being on probation. Then you have the police breaking down your door and coming in there. It's a difficult situation.

So, if you're going to plead to felony and you're concerned about filling out the Proposition 63 form, you obviously want to coordinate that with your criminal defense attorney because you don't want to fill it out incorrectly and sometimes you don't want to fill it out, again depending on your circumstances.

I have one client who had a bunch of guns registered to him. So, we actually continued the case before he pled so that we could set all his guns up because he could transfer his guns and he has to fill out the transfer paperwork, because as soon as they spot that you've got guns — in today's political climate related to guns and guns used and now you're a convicted felon — they're going to be looking to try to get you in trouble somehow.

Don't Risk a Probation Violation

So, you have to make sure that you handle it the right way. Coordinate it through your attorney and if you do have guns and they're registered in your name and you plead to a felony, you're going to have to properly get those guns out of your name and out of your possession.

You don't want to be in a position where you move them out of your name but you still keep them in a house where you're living — the probation department sweeps in, finds the guns and now you have a probation violation. The prosecutor and judge are asking why you have those guns, thinking you're up to something sinister and now they're going to be looking to send you to prison for violating the terns and condition of your probation that says that you can no longer own, use or possess guns, a bullet or anything of that nature.

Coordinate With Your Criminal Lawyer

So, if you're going to have to deal with that Proposition 63 form, coordinate everything through your attorney. Let your attorney figure out how to deal with it depending on the circumstances of your case. What I do is, I have a private conversation with my client related to that form, related to whether or not they own, use or possess any weapons, or ever have in the past, because we don't want to be in a position where we have to do a hearing now to prove that you didn't falsely fill out that Proposition 63 form or to prove that you haven't violated your probation because you've got your hands on some guns.

Contact Our Law Firm For Help

So, if you have an issue with that and pleading because of your gun rights, give me a call. We'll sit down and talk about it. I've represented many people who have to plead to felonies and have to deal with guns in Los Angeles county and you can bet your bottom dollar, now is one of the most cautious times you have with all the shootings going on, not just in LA county but across the country.

Related Resources:
California Proposition 63 — Background Checks for Ammunition
New Restrictions on Ammunition Sales to Take Effect in California