New Jersey Gun Offense Attorney

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. If you are reading this page, chances are you or someone you care about is facing gun charges in New Jersey and you are realizing just how serious this situation has become. We understand the fear. We understand the confusion. And we want you to know that there is a path forward, but it requires understanding exactly what you are up against in a state that treats firearm possession more harshly than almost anywhere else in America.

New Jersey does not care why you had the gun. It does not care that you are a law-abiding citizen. It does not care that you have never been in trouble before. In this state, intent does not matter. The moment you possess a firearm without the correct New Jersey permit, you are already facing felony charges. This is the reality that catches thousands of people off guard every single year.

Heres the thing about NJ gun laws that nobody tells you until its too late. Your Pennsylvania permit, your Florida concealed carry license, that Virginia permit you worked so hard to get - none of it means anything once you cross into New Jersey. In fact, having that out-of-state permit realy makes things worse. It proves you knew exactly what you were carrying. It becomes evidence against you, not protection for you.

Why Legal Gun Owners Face Prison in New Jersey

OK so think about this for a second. You are a responsible gun owner. You followed every rule in your home state. You took the classes, passed the background check, got your permit. And now your facing five to ten years in state prison becuase you drove through New Jersey with that same gun locked in your car.

This isnt hypothetical. It happens constantly. Hundreds of residents from Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, and other states are arrested every year in New Jersey for guns that were completly legal until they crossed the state line. The state dosent distinguish between someone with criminal intentions and a grandmother from Philadelphia who didnt realize her legal firearm becomes contraband at the border.

Under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5, unlawful possession of a handgun is a second-degree crime. Thats the same criminal category as aggravated assault. The same category as certain sexual offenses. Let that sink in. Possession alone, with no violent act, no criminal intent, puts you in the same sentencing range as people who physicaly hurt someone.

The Graves Act: 42 Months Before You See a Parole Board

Now heres were it gets even worse. New Jersey has something called the Graves Act, and its designed to ensure that anyone convicted of a gun offense serves real prison time. Not probation. Not house arrest. Actual years behind bars.

Forty-two months. That is the mandatory minimum under the Graves Act before you become eligable for parole. Not forty-two months total sentence. Forty-two months before they will even consider letting you out. If your sentenced to five years, you serve at least forty-two months before parole is even a conversation. If your sentenced to seven years, you still serve at least forty-two months or half the sentence, whichever is longer.

This is not judicial discretion. This is mandatory. The judge dosent get to look at your clean record and say you seem like a good person, maybe we can do less. The law ties the judges hands. Unless something extraordinary happens during the plea negotiation process, your looking at years in state prison as a baseline outcome.

Todd Spodek and our team at Spodek Law Group have seen this scenario play out hundreds of times. Good people. No prior record. Legitimate gun owners in there home states. And there facing the same mandatory minimums as career criminals because New Jersey views the possession itself as the crime, not what you might do with it.

Your Out-of-State Permit Means Nothing Here

Look at it this way. Every other drivers license in America works in every state. You dont need a New Jersey drivers license to drive through New Jersey. But firearms? Completley different story. New Jersey does not recognize any out-of-state carry permit. Period. A court ruling in 2025 made this absolutly clear - they have no obligation to honor your permit, and they wont.

A Utah man named Greg Revell spent ten days in a New Jersey jail for a firearm that was legal in 49 other states. He was traveling through Newark airport. His gun was properly stored. He followed every federal guideline. It didnt matter. New Jersey arrested him anyway.

Heres what happens when you get pulled over in New Jersey with an out-of-state gun. The officer asks if there any weapons in the vehicle. You, being honest like youve always been, say yes but explain you have a permit. The officer doesnt care about your permit. You get arrested on the spot for unlawful possession of a handgun, a second degree crime. Your gun is confiscated. Your car might be impounded. And your facing the Graves Act mandatory minimums we just discussed.

The federal Firearm Owners Protection Act technicaly provides some protection for traveling through states with strict gun laws, but its narrow. The gun must be unloaded. It must be in a locked container seperate from ammunition. You cant be stopping in New Jersey for anything other than necessety. The moment you get gas, grab food, or check into a hotel, you may have stepped outside that federal protection.

Places You Cant Carry Even With a NJ Permit

Lets say you finaly went through the process of getting a New Jersey carry permit. Its extremly difficult but lets say you did it. You might think your safe now. Your not.

Even with a valid New Jersey carry permit, walking into certain locations with your firearm makes you a criminal. Hospitals. Schools and universities. Bars and restaurants that serve alcohol. Government buildings. Public transit facilities. Entertainment venues. The list of "sensitive places" where carry is prohibited is extensive and constantly expanding.

And its not just about where you carry. Its about what your carrying. One extra bullet in your magazine - the eleventh round - turns a legal accessory into a fourth-degree felony. New Jersey limits magazine capacity to ten rounds. If you have a magazine that holds eleven or more, even if its never been loaded, even if the gun itself is legal, your commiting a crime.

Heres the kicker about ammunition. Hollow point bullets are largely illegal in New Jersey. There are narrow exceptions for keeping them in your home or transporting them directly from a gun store to your residence, but carry them outside those situations and your adding another charge to your case. Its not enough to have the right gun with the right permit. You need the right ammunition in the right quantity carried in exactly the right way.

How Prosecutors Decide Who Gets a Waiver

OK so you might be thinking there must be some exception. Some way for first-time offenders to avoid prison. And technicaly there is. Its called a Graves Act waiver.

But heres the uncomfortable truth about Graves Act waivers - you cant ask for one. Only the prosecutor can request that the mandatory minimum be waived. The defendant has no ability to file for it directly. Your completley at the mercy of whether the county prosecutor decides to show you lenience.

Prosecutors consider several factors when decideing whether to request a waiver. Your criminal history matters alot. Whether the gun was actually used or just possessed matters. Whether there were aggravating circumstances like drugs in the car or prior offenses. The specific facts of how you came to have the gun in New Jersey.

For out-of-state residents, the Attorney General has issued guidance encouraging prosecutors to give special consideration. The system reconizes that mandatory incarceration is especialy disruptive for people who were genuinly unaware of New Jerseys strict laws. But encouragement is not a requirement. Prosecutors have complete discretion, and many counties are more agressive than others.

If the prosecutor denies a waiver request, you can appeal to the assignment judge. But the burden is impossibly high. You have to prove the denial was a "patent and gross abuse of discretion" that was basicaly unconstitutional. Its a Hail Mary, not a realistic strategy.

What Actually Happens at a NJ Gun Arrest

Understanding the practicle reality of a New Jersey gun arrest helps you prepare for whats coming. This is what our clients experiance.

First, theres the arrest itself. Whether its a traffic stop or some other encounter, once the officer discovers an illegaly possessed firearm, your going to jail. You will be processed and held for a detention hearing, which typicaly happens within 48-72 hours.

At the detention hearing, the prosecutor will argue whether you should be held pending trial or released. Unlike many states, New Jersey eliminated cash bail in 2017. The decision is based purely on risk assessment - are you a flight risk, are you a danger to the community, are you likely to obstruct justice. For gun charges, prosecutors often argue for detention.

Heres what you need to understand about transport and storage. Where you put the gun in your car matters enormosly. Glove box? Thats a felony location. Center console? Also a felony location. The trunk is the only acceptible place for transport in New Jersey, and even then the gun must be unloaded, in a locked case, seperate from ammunition.

The case then proceeds through the superior court system. Indictment, discovery, plea negotiations or trial. This process can take months or even over a year depending on the county. During that entire time, your life is on hold. Your facing potential prison. Your career, your family, your future - all uncertain.

Defense Strategies That Work in NJ Gun Cases

Despite how bleak this sounds, there are defense strategies that can work. The right attorney makes the difference between prison and freedom.

Fourth Amendment challenges are often effective. Did the police have probable cause to search your vehicle? Was the traffic stop legitmate in the first place? If the search was unconstitutional, the gun gets suppressed as evidence and the case may be dismissed entirely. We scrutinize every aspect of the stop and search.

PTI - Pre-Trial Intervention - is the best possible outcome for first-time offenders who qualify. PTI means no conviction. No criminal record. No prison. You complete a supervisory period, usualy one to three years, and the charges are dismissed. But getting into PTI requires prosecutor consent, and for gun charges, that consent is hard to obtain without aggressive advocacy.

The waiver negotiation process is critical. Presenting compelling mitigation to the prosecutor - your background, your lack of criminal history, the circumstances of the possession, your ties to the community - all of this factors into whether they will request a waiver. Spodek Law Group prepares comprehensive mitigation packages because we know that preparation makes the difference.

For out-of-state residents specificaly, we emphasize the Attorney Generals guidance that recognizes the particular hardship of people who didnt know New Jerseys laws. We argue that mandatory incarceration would constitute a serious injustice for someone who was otherwise law-abiding.

When Prior History Makes Everything Worse

Everything we have discussed so far assumes your a first-time offender. If you have prior criminal history, especialy prior weapons convictions or indictable offenses, the situation becomes dramaticaly worse.

One prior conviction, even years ago, even for something seemingly unrelated, can upgrade your gun charge from second-degree to first-degree. That means not five to ten years but ten to twenty years in prison. The Graves Act mandatory minimums become even more severe.

Under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-7, certain persons are prohibited from possessing any weapon. If youve been convicted of specific offenses - certain drug crimes, aggravated assault, robbery, and many others - youre permanently barred from gun ownership in New Jersey. Getting caught with a gun after such a conviction triggers enhanced penalties that are difficult to impossible to negotiate down.

This is why running an honest assessment of your background is the first step in any defense strategy. We need to know everything about your history to understand what your actualy facing and what options remain availible.

Getting Real Legal Help for Gun Charges

New Jersey gun charges require attorneys who understand both the law and the practical reality of how these cases are prosecuted in each county. Cookie-cutter defense doesnt work. Every case needs a strategy tailored to its specific facts and the specific prosecutors office handling it.

At Spodek Law Group, we handle gun cases across New Jersey. We know which counties are more likely to grant waivers. We know which prosecutors respond to which arguments. We know how to build mitigation packages that genuinly persuade. And we know how to challenge unconstitutional searches that never should have happened in the first place.

If your facing gun charges, time matters. Evidence needs to be preserved. Witnesses need to be interviewed. Motion deadlines start running. The sooner you have representation, the better your chances of a favorable outcome.

Do not try to handle this alone. Do not assume your out-of-state permit will somehow protect you. Do not assume the prosecutor will be reasonable without serious advocacy on your behalf.

Call us at 212-300-5196. We are availible to discuss your case and start building a defense strategy immediately.