Maryland Gun Penalty Severity
If you have been charged with a gun offense, it is important that you retain experienced legal counsel as soon as possible. Gun penalties can have serious consequences, impacting both your personal and professional life. You may lose certain rights and liberties, depending on the offense itself. Maryland gun penalty severity is a serious matter, which is why you should speak with a serious attorney that could devote the time and resources necessary to protect you.
Duration of the Legal Process for a Gun Offense
The duration of the legal process for a gun offense depends on a few different factors. If the person’s case is actually held in district court as a misdemeanor, it is possible that the whole legal case could be resolved within 60 to 90 days, but that totally changes if the person’s case is in circuit court. In that scenario, it would not be unusual for it to take six months or more.
That being said, there are protections afforded to a person under the constitution. They have the right to have their case tried in a timely fashion, but timely can sometimes mean months and months because, if there is a good reason given for a case to be postponed, then that is allowable. So, the legal process can feel really long and drawn out to a client, especially one who is incarcerated and is just sitting in jail waiting to see what the outcome of their case is going to be.
How Severe Are the Average Gun Law Penalties?
Maryland gun penalty severity can vary because there are several different types of gun offenses. Some of them carry minimum mandatory sentences, which is a significant consequence for a defendant, and some of them do not. In a lot of situations, the court has a great deal of discretion as to what sentence to give somebody. The court does not have to give a person any active jail time. A lot of times if it is that person’s first offense or if they were doing something because they were dealing with addictions issues or mental health issues, for example, the court is usually more focused on trying to rehabilitate that person than to incarcerate them.
When there are statutes written by the legislature that provides a minimum mandatory sentence that has to be imposed, it ties the hands of the judges. There is no workaround to those, so they would have to impose the minimum mandatory. That means that the portion of the sentence cannot be suspended. Depending on what the person did or if they have any prior record, it is possible that they could be sentenced to a certain length of time with no parole opportunity. Those are penalties that someone will face. Those are more severe consequences than typically seen in sentencing for other types of crimes.
Factors Influencing the Severity of the Penalty
There are several different factors that can influence Maryland gun penalty severity. Some factors have to do with the person’s personal history. If the person has a prior history, the penalty could be different. If the gun is related to another type of offense, it is possible that the person could end up being sentenced to several different convictions and their sentences may be consecutive to each other, leaving the individual to serve one sentence after another.
Other factors that can cause the penalties to differ have to do with what sort of firearm the person is charged with possessing. For example, if they are charged with wear/carry of a handgun, the minimum sentence would be 30 days and the maximum sentence would be three years. If the person has prior convictions, then the penalties can increase to a minimum of three years and maximum of 10 years.
If the person was charged with possession of an assault weapon, the penalty is much greater. The sentence for possessing an assault weapon, depending on the circumstances, can be a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years. Depending on the person’s record, the type of firearm that they have, and what other charges they may have been facing, the penalties can differ dramatically.
Importance of Working With a Maryland Gun Lawyer
If you have been charged with a gun offense, you should seek the services of an experienced lawyer because gun laws can be complicated. There are also several different elements that the prosecution must prove in order for you to be convicted, but a seasoned attorney can attempt to disprove those elements. If your lawyer has handled gun cases in the past, they may be familiar with the constitutional issues that could play a role in your case. Maryland gun penalty severity can have serious consequences for both your personal and professional life. That is why it is important to get in touch with a skilled gun attorney that can fight for you,