LTC Appeal Results in MA
LTC Appeals Overturned in the District Court
Our firm has handled a lot of license to carry (LTC) appeals in Massachusetts. We go all over the Commonwealth, and have certainly had our share of good results. People often call and ask us about some of our prior successful cases, where we have been able to overturn an LTC denial or suspension in court. Below are some examples of such wins. That said, no attorney can guarantee results in your case. Even though we have had a lot of cases in which we have convinced a judge to overrule a police chief’s decision to deny or suspend an LTC, we cannot guarantee a win in your appeal, even if the facts are similar. Every case is different, and even with similar facts, different chiefs and judges make a difference in the appeal.
Boston Police
Dorchester Municipal Court
Our client, a 34-year-old woman, applied for an LTC and was denied for “unsuitability” related to the contents of two police reports. One of the police reports alleged that our client had been involved in a street fight with another teen girl when our client was a teenager. She was charged in court, and she pleaded to a CWOF for affray and the other charges were dismissed. The second police report alleged that her then ex-boyfriend (and not current husband) called 911 to report that our client was a danger to herself. The police arrived and brought her to a hospital, although she was never actually committed nor placed on a section 12 hold.
At the hearing, the client, her now husband, and a licensing officer from the department all testified. Our client and her husband have been married for 15 years, have children together, and she has no mental illness diagnoses. The judge ruled in our client’s favor and ordered the police to issue her a LTC.
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Southampton Police
Northampton District Court
Our client had applied for an FID card. The chief applied to the court to have him deemed unsuitable in order to deny his application. At the hearing, the police produced numerous police reports ranging over 18 years, alleging that he had “severe mental health/behavioral disorders,” including “Explosive Disorder.” The reports also included two allegations of sexual assault, with two separate alleged victims, five years apart. His ex wife, one of those alleged victims, had sought and received an emergency restraining order; at the two party hearing, the judge declined to extend that order.
We presented evidence that a probate and family court judge had since granted our client full legal and physical custody of their minor child during a divorce proceeding. We also pointed out that the police did not investigate the credibility of any of the allegations, and instead solely relied on police reports.
The judge agreed with us and ordered the chief to grant our client an FID card.
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Plymouth Police
Plymouth District Court
Our client’s LTC application was denied based on two police reports involving the client, both a few years prior to the application. Both incidents resulted in our client’s arrest, but all charges were ultimately dismissed. The charges were related to alleged domestic violence. We argued to the judge that the police chief did not adequately investigate the claims, and also demonstrated that after the charges had been dismissed, our client was granted full physical custody of the couple’s two minor children after a contested divorce. Had the Chief adequately investigated, rather than denying our client’s LTC application based solely on now-dismissed charges, he would have realized that the charged allegations were without merit.
As a result, the court ordered the police department to issue our client a license to carry firearms.
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Everett Police
Malden District Court
Our client was a licensed gun owner for four years. He was charged with Assault and Battery on a Family or Household Member, with his then-girlfriend as the alleged victim. The licensing department immediately suspended his LTC.
Client appealed the suspension and in the meantime, the criminal case was dismissed after his now ex-girlfriend refused to cooperate with the prosecution. At the LTC appeal hearing, we produced a notarized affidavit from his ex-girlfriend, where she stated that our client did not assault her and has not been violent with her, and further noting that it was a third party who had called the police. We also demonstrated that the police report revealed that there were no observable injuries on the alleged victim and that the chief relied on the police report of another department, without actually conducting any investigation on his own.
The judge agreed with us and ordered our client’s LTC to be reinstated.
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Southborough Police
Westborough District Court
Our client applied for an LTC. He had no criminal record and by the chief’s own admission, he was a suitable person. However, the Chief denied his LTC application because our client’s wife and now-adult son have a history of several incidents involving violence and substantial mental health issues. The chief alleged that our client’s inability to run a safe household made it too dangerous for him to have a LTC.
We appealed, and argued that any allegations against our client’s wife and son have no bearing on his suitability. If our client is suitable (and not otherwise prohibited), then the law requires the chief to grant him an LTC. The judge agreed and ordered the chief to issue an LTC to our client.
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Leominster Police
Leominster District Court
Our client was denied for a LTC based on two reasons. First, the chief’s denial letter stated that she was prohibited based on a conviction for larceny. Second, the chief claimed that because she was hospitalized in a mental hospital, she was ineligible to have a firearm.
We appealed to the district court. We showed the judge that the misdemeanor larceny conviction did not make our client a prohibited person. And her admission to a psychiatric hospital was not a “commitment” as noted in the LTC statutory framework and thus, would not require a five year waiting period or an affidavit from a doctor. Further, there was no credible evidence to suggest that she might be a public safety risk.
The judge sided with our client and ordered the police department to issue her a LTC.
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Swansea Police
Fall River District Court
Our client had held a LTC for 26 years before it was suspended by the police chief based on “unsuitability.” Our client, who was an armed guard, went to visit someone at a hospital with his uniform and duty belt, which included his firearm. Our client was sleeping in the room, to keep his stepdaughter company while recovering from surgery. A nurse allegedly told him to leave, and he responded by lifting up his shirt, exposing his firearm, and stating that “this thing on my hip gives me the right [to stay].” Our client’s stepdaughter did not hear this exchange and our client adamantly denied ever having said such a thing, nor lifting up his shirt to purposely expose his gun. The chief also claimed that our client was unsuitable because he failed to update his address.
After a full hearing, including testimony by the police chief, our client, and his stepdaughter, the judge ordered the chief to reinstate our client’s LTC.
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Natick Police
Natick District Court
Our client was a 50-year-old firefighter who applied for a LTC but was denied based on alleged “unsuitability” because two years earlier, he was charged with an OUI, Leaving the Scene of a Person Injured, and Operating a Motor Vehicle Recklessly. He admitted to sufficient facts and accepted a CWOF on the OUI charge, and the remaining two counts were dismissed. Other than the single incident, our client did not have a criminal record.
The police chief had reviewed the relevant police reports and determined that this was a road rage incident and thus, denied our client’s LTC application. However, he did not speak with the arresting officers, nor any of the witnesses. At the LTC appeal hearing, our client testified and explained that, while some of the facts were true, he had actually been harassed by a large group of people and felt threatened, which is why he left the scene after escaping in his vehicle.
After the hearing, the judge issued a written decision and ordered the police to issue our client a LTC.
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North Andover Police
Lawrence District Court
Our client’s LTC was suspended after he was charged with larceny of a motor vehicle, felony larceny, and receiving stolen property, and accepted a six month period of pre trial probation. Aside from that charge, our client had three other minor criminal cases in the past, but none of which ended in conviction. He had been a responsible gun owner prior to his LTC suspension. The police chief did no investigation into the facts of the case at issue, nor as to why the prosecution agreed to a delayed dismissal of the case, with no admission of wrongdoing.
At the hearing, our client and his defense attorney both testified, as did the police chief. The chief acknowledged his lack of diligent investigation, and the defense attorney explained how rare it is to achieve a pre-trial probation disposition in a criminal case, as well as some case specifics.
Our client explained that he is a landscaping business owner, and that it was common for vendors to drop off ride on mowers to test out, and that when he saw a new one in his driveway at the end of the day, he secured it in his commercial garage until he had a chance to test it out the next day. It turned out to have been stolen and the police tracked it down via a GPS inside the mower (who knew that some mowers have GPS devices?!). Our client was cooperative with the police, and as mentioned earlier, he resolved the case with pre-trial probation, which is a delayed dismissal with no admission of wrongdoing.
After the hearing, the judge ordered the police to reinstate our client’s LTC.
