[Ohio] state level firearms rights restored, how long till I try a 4473

I have just finished reading this topic with great interest.

My question comes to this. What is going to happen once all these states start to decriminalize pot. What is this effect to those that were once convicted for felony possession? I have heard that their records will be expunged of these convictions and if that is so then what happens to the gun rights? Are they still restricted? Will they have to go through all this also?

I ask because I do have a Stepchild that has a felony possession conviction for having pot plants.
 
Legal trouble, congratulations on getting relief from the firearms disability!

I don't think any of us really knows how long it will take before you're "in the clear." Unfortunately, I'm going to have to echo the thought that you still need a lawyer to check this out in any way short of trying to buy a gun from a dealer & letting the NICS check proceed. And therein lies the rub.
 
I have no answer, legally or not but for the OP, why not go to a LGS and try?
It isn't necessarily tied to a specific gun, it's just permission to 'buy a gun'...or does that put one on some sort of 'black list', if it's denied??
 
Legal trouble said:
A little background: I'm 33, 15 years ago when I was a young and dumb 18 year old I got myself into some trouble and caught a F5 (lowest level felony here in Ohio) drug charge. Did zero time, 2.5yrs probation / fines / 100h of community service however because of the charge I was a prohibited person. Fast forward to this year, under ORC 2923.14 I filed for and after a pro se legal battle was subsequently granted relief from firearms disability on Dec 19th!

I did all this on my own as the fees even the cheap lawyers wanted were out of this world (high end $7k flat, cheap ones ~$3k plus actual filing costs and actual billable time) so at the end of the proceedings I asked the judge some questions I had (which admittedly would of been best directed to a lawyer but again, pro se) .
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If you don't mind the question, why didn't you file for an expungement and sealing of your record?
 
USNRet93 said:
It isn't necessarily tied to a specific gun, it's just permission to 'buy a gun'
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The specific details of the gun aren’t entered into a NICS check other than the general category of firearm, but a NICS check can only be performed by a dealer in conjunction with the transfer of a specific firearm (or multiple firearms).
 
Aguila and Spatts- thanks for covering my goof.

I've never seen a bad lead from either of you.
 
Legal_trouble said:
Unfortunately I was ineligible for a full on expungement, otherwise that's definitely the route to take.
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That may be an issue, and it's another reason for you to consult an attorney if you can possibly swing it.

I'm not an attorney, but I pick up tidbits here and there, and some of it sticks. Something I sort of recall from several years ago was an article about restoration of rights, and the feds. All I can remember is that the author said the feds do not recognize the firearms rights restoration process of some states as meeting their requirements.

I don't think the article listed states, and if it did I don't remember. Also, it was several years ago, so things may have changed. The basic point is that, once again, we have the dance between the state governments and the federal government, and they don't also operate in sync. You may be perfectly good to go insofar as the state of Ohio is concerned, but the feds may not agree.

And if I've misrepresented this, I hope one of the lawyers on here will chime in and correct me.
 
Legal_trouble said:
Unfortunately I was ineligible for a full on expungement, otherwise that's definitely the route to take.
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This sends up a red flag for me. AB has summarized my reaction to it pretty well, with the obvious exception that I am an attorney.
AB said:
That may be an issue, and it's another reason for you to consult an attorney if you can possibly swing it..... [Like AB, I seem to recall reading that] the feds do not recognize the firearms rights restoration process of some states as meeting their requirements....The basic point is that, once again, we have the dance between the state governments and the federal government, and they don't also operate in sync. You may be perfectly good to go insofar as the state of Ohio is concerned, but the feds may not agree....
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Legal trouble said:
Unfortunately I was ineligible for a full on expungement, otherwise that's definitely the route to take.
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Though I've reluctantly undertaken a few criminal matters, that isn't in any way the focus of my practice, so discount my comments as you see fit. I am not asking you for further clarification.

Ohio's expungment process may be unavailable to an individual because of the character of the act resulting in conviction, the number of convictions, another recent conviction, or an assessment of the prosecutor and court that the applicant shouldn't have the record expunged. I've performed a few, and never had one denied even where the code doesn't provide for it. (That's not bragging -- an attorney not having lost a sort of case is just a sign he doesn't take hard ones.)

I don't know whether your conclusion that you are ineligible means that your application should be denied according to a code section, or if you asked the prosecutor's office and received a negative response. (This is not a request for clarification.) One of the advantages of having the matter handled by counsel is the difference in the character of the conversation of an attorney with a prosecutor and judge. In a process that ultimately hinges on personal interactions and judgments, that matters.

Expungement isn't a metaphorical eraser. You are still convicted and your record still exists and is accessible, but you no longer have an obligation to disclose it in certain common circumstances like lease and employment applications.

It is not clear to me that even an expungement and sealing by an Ohio court would entitle you to receive an arm from a federal licensee. You may merely be entitled to purchase from non-licensees. This is another circumstance in which a UBC would work a hardship on an individual.
 
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Hello folks, after all the advice here I've spoke with a lawyer over the phone yesterday morning. He answered some of my questions and is researching the others and we're meeting early this coming week to go over the remaining issues he didn't have immediate answers for. I also spoke with the sheriff's office CCW division.

I will summarize my questions and his answers here once that meeting takes place.

In the mean time, don't take this post as an end-all to this thread, I welcome any additional advice / questions / comments!
 
To Legal_trouble:

This is a question that arises from time to time and I'm sure I am not the only person here who will be interested to learn as much about how this plays out as possible. That said -- remember that this is a public forum, on the Internet. Be careful that you don't spill any personal information that could be detrimental to you in the future. When you hire an attorney, there's attorney-client privilege to protect anything you tell them. There's no semblance of confidentiality or privileged information here on an open, public forum.
 
Just got a text from the lawyers secretary, meeting is Tuesday morning. Are there any specific questions anyone here would suggest I ask other than the points / questions I've already raised here?

@Aguila Blanca thank you for that advice, I'm usually a pretty private person so I don't think it'll be an issue not to indulge too much personal info but very good point.
 
Legal_touble said:
Just got a text from the lawyers secretary, meeting is Tuesday morning. Are there any specific questions anyone here would suggest I ask other than the points / questions I've already raised here?
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I would review the points already raised. In particular, I would focus on the difference between "expungement" and "restoration of rights," and what that means in terms of regaining your federal gun rights. In other words, does the process you went through satisfy the federal requirements for allowing you under federal law to buy and possess firearms.
 
I know you are dealing with firearm rights here, but please also ask about having your voting rights restored; it's just ss important.
 
Voting rights are automatically restored in Ohio at the completion of your sentence. But great suggestion, I know not all states are automatic like here.
 
Older thread here but generally problems passing background checks due to criminal records that are not otherwise prohibitive fall into a few categories.

State or court fails to update records. Essentially a case (even something nonsensical that has no judgement yet is 20 years old) appears open or current. My understanding is the state (or maybe only POC states) updates their NICs records, and if done improperly then a legit expungement can even appear unrelated to the conviction it applies to.

Incorrect interpretation of state law, ie in one state a DWI is not a crime carrying > 2 years, another state it is. The agent erroneously denies someone for non prohibiting convictions..

Drug crimes which do not automatically block one based on the max sentence but the person is flagged as a drug user (possibly completely erroneously even a decade later)...

Some things you can control and some you can't but checking all available records, ie states, any court you have been involved with, and expunging all arrests and minor convictions possible, can solve such problems (common for people to expunge a felony but leave a bunch of misdemeanors there that are then misinterpreted)..

Also, as mentioned, at the state level there can be workarounds. Like in NH for example the state police perform all checks involving pistol transfers and more consistently correctly interpret their own laws, so there are people who can buy a pistol and 3 rifles but would get denied purchasing just a rifle because the feds screw it up.
 
Hi guys, an update: a lot of the details are very case specific and I'm not able to share as much as I'd hoped to here at this time but I'd like to one day do a more in detail write up after everything comes to a final closure. When that'll happen there's really no way to say...

Now here's what I can say after speaking with my lawyer, as the judge stated I'm G2G to buy a gun from another private individual now (and I've done so!) however the very earliest I should even try an FFL transfer is after June 1st. Apparently the state of Ohio is pretty ok about updating records in cases such as mine however they only do it 2 times a year (but, as they should, they will of course add prohibiting records as they come in). He said there's no reason even to try now cause ~10 days over xmas wasn't enough to make the Jan 1 update for sure.

He also said to go ahead and file a VAF now. He said they take so long to process that I may as well start that > year long process ASAP, even if June rolls around and I find I don't need it I'm only out $30 for a set of finger prints and if I do need it I'll already be up 6 months on the wait time.

The final thing he said (that I can share) is in regards to a CCW application. Per the sheriff when I file I'll need to include certified copies of the relief judgement, he told me when I go down to get those copies I need to make 100% sure the case number of the original prohibiting charges are on the relief judgement and if they're not I should contact the judge and ask her to amend the paperwork to include those and then pickup a new certified copy. I asked how it would work if I can't [yet] pass a NICS check that I would be able to pass the ccw nics check and he said that I would still technically get a deny response but the sheriff office ccw department has the final say which is why the paperwork is so important.


Like I said I had numerous other questions and he had answers for everything (I definitely got my $200 worth of legal advice) but I don't feel adding case specifics here would be wise at this time.
 
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