Confiscated handgun help....

[zephyp]

No you don't unless they ask... Looking at Daniels issue again I wonder how much this had to do with his arrest. That little thing of ammo stored with the gun IMO may have been the clincher for the cop to look correct in court and push for a concealed weapon rather than a simple transport.The clip was not in the gun, nor was the clip loaded but the empty clip and some ammo were in the case along with the gun.

The ammo had nothing to do with it.

It was the fact that he was carrying the gun concealed without a permit or an exemption under 18.2-308

But technicaly you are in violation unless there is some separation of the ammo and weapon...i.e. cased and unloaded. Since VA does not specify how weapons are to be transported you should assume weapons cased, unloaded, with ammo stored in a separate container.

[vbrtrmn]

Just remember, if you plead Not Guilty or Nolo Contendere (no contest), you can appeal. If you're still having issues, good luck!

[user]

Negative. That gun is long gone. You had ten days from the date of judgment in which to note your appeal, and if you had done that, an additional twenty days in which to post the bond necessary to perfect the appeal. The court had twenty-one days after judgment in which to exercise jurisdiction, for example if you wanted to make a motion to reconsider or vacate the judgment. If you didn't do any of those things, you're pretty much sunk.

There is one option, and that's filing a new case in the appropriate circuit court to nullify the verdict. On the facts you stated, there is no way you could be found guilty, since "possession" means the immediate ability to exercise dominion or control over the gun. If it was locked in a case, even if it was setting next to you, it wasn't a concealed weapon. Such cases are extremely rarely filed. The only ground upon which you could do that would be "fraud on the court". You could include a count asking for expungement as part of the remedy sought.

You probably have a cause of action against the lawyer for malpractice if he didn't tell you about your options for post-trial motions and appeal.