In re Hart

JONATHAN N. HARRIS, J.S.C.

Introduction

Ownership of firearms and a criminal conviction do not mix. N.J.S.A. 2C:58-3(c)(l). Nevertheless, a person whose criminal conviction has been expunged may be entitled to a permit to purchase a firearm. N.J.S.A 2C:52-27. In this gun permit appeal, appellant Walter Hart was convicted in 1971 in New York of coercion in the second degree, a class A misdemeanor. Ex-pungement of that conviction is unavailable in both New York and New Jersey. Having been denied a firearms purchaser identification card and a permit to purchase a handgun by the Bergenfield Chief…