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A Warning For You Machine Gun Possessors...


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Man sentenced in weapon case

 

 

A federal judge fined a Florence man $10,000 and ordered him to spend nine months in home detention for possessing a World War II-era machine gun.

 

U.S. District Judge Karen O. Bowdre also put Paul David Connolly, 49, on five years' probation and ordered him to perform 150 hours of community service.

 

Connolly, who had faced a possible 10-year sentence, had been indicted in April for possessing a Sten machine assembled from a kit. He later pleaded guilty.

 

Connolly's attorney, Jim Sturdivant, said Connolly possessed the weapon for recreational purposes only and he hoped the sentence imposed by the judge Wednesday will not be appealed.

 

U.S. Attorney Alice Martin said the sentence would be reviewed and that federal law "clearly prohibits the private possession of a machine gun."

 

 

 

 

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http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/mad.gif "U.S. Attorney Alice Martin said the sentence would be reviewed and that federal law "clearly prohibits the private possession of a machine gun." Hogwash, as long as you pay your tax and do the paper work you can have all the machine guns that you can afford. And this "lady" is a U.S. Attorney??? How can she be if she doesn't even know the law.

 

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Speaking of burying guns: I had a Latvian room mate one time who told the following (speaking of the Soviet era):

 

Q: Why do all of the gardens in Latvia look so bad?

A: They never get watered because the guns would rust!

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I wonder if she was misquoted.

 

Making a machine gun from a kit without the license or paperwork is a crime.

 

Possession in Alabama with federal paperwork is NOT A CRIME.

 

Something is not right with this story....

 

Chris.

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QUOTE Connolly, who had faced a possible 10-year sentence, had been indicted in April for possessing a Sten machine assembled from a kit. He later pleaded guilty.

 

I think it's clear the guy thought he had the right to convert to full auto play without submitting the forms and the $200. Connolly's attorney sounds like the model court appointed putz with his brilliant defense strategy, "My client possessed the weapon for recreational purposes only." As if that feeble explanation would make it all better.

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Actually, that "court appointed putz" did one hell of a job. Nine months home detention for the manufacture and possession of an illegal machine gun is what they refer to in the legal business as a [big] win. Watch your newspapers and magazines, this may not be the last time you hear of the "recreational purposes only" defense.
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Once again, Arthur sticks his foot in his mouth. It isn't as offense when he is actually making an a** of himself in an area where he appears to be knowledgable. Obviously, this is not such an area.

 

If I could post pictures there would be a jpg of a WWII soldier hoisting his mess cup with the caption:

 

How about a big cup of shut the f*** up?

 

 

As a "court appointed putz" myself, I concur that 9 months was one hell of a job. So he claimed possession was recreational, what was he going to say, client knew it was wrong and didn't give a sh*t?

 

Every federal defender I know on a personal basis takes their job very seriously. Not to mention, I estimate less than 10% of the population could afford to retain an attorney worth a damn to defend a federal gun case.

 

Oh, last but not least, here is a link to Mr. Sturdivant's rating from his peers ate www.martindale-hubbell.com

 

http://www.martindale-hubbell.com/xp/Marti...TS=&CRY=1&LSCH=

 

 

For those of you unfamiliar with Martindale Hubbell, they are THE national attorney rating service. the AV rating means excellent attorney and very ethical. Hmmm, just the type of advocate one would desire when accused of a crime.

 

 

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ND,

I can't immprove on, "As a "court appointed putz" myself," but AV ratings are peer (not wharf) reviews. And nobody gets less than an AV or a BB in the MH anyway. Was this Sturdivant guy your mentor or something? And as far as an obviously guilty defendent saying, "Yah, I did break the law," sure would be a refreshing declarative statement not heard often enough in America's courtrooms. I know that sort of personal responsibilty is considered anathema by attorneys. How else would they be able to justify their swelling numbers in the Yellow Pages, as well as in Martindale- Hubbell. I wasn't besmerching court appointed attorneys any more than high-priced feckless barristers. And where do you guys see 10 -year jail sentences for a first offender guilty of one count NFA violation? This guy gets a pretty standard sentence and now the Dutchman is Clarence Darrow?

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QUOTE
A federal judge fined a Florence man $10,000 and ordered him to spend nine months in home detention for possessing a World War II-era machine gun.

 

It would be a lot better if the reporter who wrote this (I assume a reporter wrote this) if it read:

 

A federal judge fined a Florence man $10,000 and ordered him to spend nine months in home detention for possessing an UNREGISTERED World War II-era machine gun.

 

 

Now, back to the lawyer fight! http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/wink.gif

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Knowing Arthur will always have the last word, apparently having nothing else better to do with his time other than annoy the rest of us on this board, you may ask yourselves why I am even bothering with another response . . .

 

1. Sarcasm is obviously lost on Arthur, as is reason and common sense.

 

2. His foot is still wedged firmly in his mouth.

 

3. Never even heard of Jim Sturdivant until this thread started. My mentor was an incredible attorney named Susan Martin who is now practicing in Colorado. Should you ever be unfortunate enough to find yourself in legal trouble in that state, look her up.

 

4. Arthur is obviously ignorant of the federal sentencing guidelines -- the gentleman with the unregistered sten could certainly and easily found himself in prison.

 

5. Nice of you to back track regarding your court apointed counsel remarks.

 

6. The number of attorneys is directly related to supply and demand, a simple economic principle with which anyone who has tried to buy a drum is painfully familiar.

 

7. Put your money where your mouth is -- get an unregistered NFA weapon, turn yourself in to the BATF and wait to see if you get a 9 month sentence.

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ND,

I wonder if Martha Stewart would have done better with a court appointed attorney? Her penchant for being parsimonious convinced her to hire a high- priced deal-maker, who figured putting on a defense was not necessary since his client was "obviously" innocent. Maybe Martha should have retained this Sturdivant legal eagle. He might have got Martha off with 5 to 10 in Woolworth. A befiting sentence for the Matron of KMart.

 

Since I seem to suffer from aphasia from this foot (feet?) in my mouth, I can only respond through a non-verbal method of communication. Hence this extra post.

 

Hardrede,

Now that is the kind of legal advice one would expect to pay $1000 an hour for.

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Before anyone takes hardrede's advice, call Martha Stewart and ask her about the federal sentencing guidelines. I would bet she is an expert in this area about now.

First offense for anything in the federal system does not automatically equate to no jail time.

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QUOTE (Arthur Fliegenheimer @ Mar 13 2004, 10:09 PM)
ND,
I can't immprove on, "As a "court appointed putz" myself," but AV ratings are peer (not wharf)  reviews. And nobody gets less than an AV or a BB in the MH anyway.

Wrong again Arthur! Every lawyer listed on Martindale-Hubble does not receive at least an AV or a BB. http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/blink.gif I have a very good friend who happens to be a practicing attorney, in Birmingham, Michigan, and his listing has no rating at all. http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/ohmy.gif However, I don't think he is losing sleep over it, as he regularly pulls in over $500,000/ year, for his work. http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/laugh.gif He specializes in corporate law, personal injury, and criminal law. Friend though he is, I hope he never starts collecting Thompsons, as he could probably corner the market! http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/unsure.gif Regards, Walter

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