I just noticed today that the General Assembly has changed the punishment portion of our felon in possession of a firearm law so that it is more lenient.
Va. Code sec. 18.2-308.2 used to call for 5 years punishment, none suspended, if in possesion after having been convicted of a violent felony, 2-5 years, 2 not to be suspended, if convicted of a non-violent felony, and had a catch-all "This is a class 6 felony" (0-5 years). I know this because in a case now on appeal I argued whether the mandatory time provisions applied when the underlying was not a conviction but a juvenile "adjudication" (which is by law a civil proceeding). However, the prosecutor and judge found a case which reasoned that because the statute states that someone can be convicted under 18.2-308.2 if he was convicted of a felony or adjudicated a delinquent for an act which would have been a felony then the fact that the mandatory punishment section of the statute only refers to those convicted means that the mandatory punishment portion of the statute applies to those adjudicated as well. The trial judge had to follow the precedent and now I'm trying to figure out how to politely tell appellate judges that their statutory construction skills were a little bit, ummmm, "out of kilter" when they decided that case.
Anyway, the law has now changed so that someone found with a firearm after previously being convicted of a violent felony will get 5 years. All others will get 2-5 years unless 10 years have passed since the conviction. In that case the punishment reverts to a simple class 6 felony (0-5). It's a subtle change in the law which actually makes a lot of sense. However, I'm surprised to see it because it flies in the face of "getting tough on crime" in an election year. Our legislators should be congratulated for this improvement in the statute.
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