Under the current law (Graves Act), for possessing a handgun or rifle a defendant faces a presumptive sentence of five (5) years State Prison with parole ineligibility for 3 ½ years. However, the defense is permitted to submit mitigating factors which could result in a partial waiver of parole ineligibility to one year, or probation and county jail, or probation or Pre-Trial Intervention.
The defense attorney must submit a detailed application to the prosecutor listing the reasons why a Graves Act Waiver should be granted. If the prosecutor’s office refuses to grant the waiver, an appeal of the denial of the Graves Act Waiver is heard before the presiding judge in the criminal part in Superior Court at time of sentencing. Michael Schreiber has handled 5 of these appeals of denials and won 4 out of 5 appeals. These clients would have received State prison sentences and one year parole. Michael Schreiber was able to get his clients county jail and probation. In the one case we did not win at a local level, the Appellate Court overturned the ruling in our client’s favor.