Gun owners who suffer under the Florio/Gormley supported “Assault Firearm” ban are now being kicked out of their homes and businesses under the newest Gormley sponsored law. This law is entitled the “Drug Offender Restraining Order Act of 1999,” (DOROA) and can be found at N.J.S. 2C:35-5.7. Aggressive implementation of this law has now begun.

All a law abiding gun owner needs to do is be charged with possession of a so-called “Assault Firearm” and the gun law victim is automatically kicked out of his/her residence and/or business by way of a restraining order which lasts for a minimum of 2 years. It does not matter one bit that drugs were not involved. The municipal court judges have been instructed to routinely issue these DOROAS. These restraining orders are issued ex parte (without any input by the defendant or his attorney).

After the issuance of a DOROA which normally accompanies the criminal complaint, there is no hearing scheduled on the DOROA. As passed, the law is void of any due process for the defendant. Just last week, I had one of these DOROAS come up in Monmouth County. My client was charged with possession of “Assault Firearm’s” which are not “Assault Firearms” (Mini-14 and Ruger 10/22). 

I immediately went back to the municipal court judge who issued the DOROA to try to persuade the judge to vacate the order. There is a section in the law that claims that the DOROA should not be issued to remove a person from their residence unless the judge is clearly convinced that there is a need to bar the defendant in order to protect the public safety. 

The municipal court judge informed me that although he issued the DOROA and was sympathetic to my clients predicament, he no longer retained the jurisdiction to make any modifications to it. This is in spite of the fact that he was the court of origin for the DOROA. The judge of the municipal court claimed that as soon as he signed the DOROA kicking the defendant out of his home, he no longer retains jurisdiction and that the Superior Court now has jurisdiction.

"By the time this had been accomplished, the law-abiding gun owner had been barred from his home for one week under the threat of jail."

Since there is no procedure in the DOROA law for challenging this restraining order or even affording the victim of the DOROA a hearing, my client was presented with a situation in which he had no opportunity to be heard on challenging the restraining order’s issuance. I therefore created and filed emergency papers with the Superior Court to try to get my client back in his home. Fortunately, the Monmouth County Superior Court and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office took the appropriate action, which was initiated by my creative filings. The Monmouth County Superior Court vacated and dissolved the restraining order. By the time this had been accomplished, the law-abiding gun owner had been barred from his home for one week under the threat of jail.

My client resided with his wife in a home on 20 acres of property. On a simple charge of possession of a so-called ““Assault Firearm”” in which the defendant holds a valid New Jersey Firearms Identification Card and poses a threat to no one, my client suffered this injustice which could have lasted for years. None of these facts were presented to nor considered by the judge of the municipal court who issued the initial DOROA.

This is a serious situation for law-abiding New Jersey gun owners. False charges for possession of an “Assault Firearm” frequently occur in New Jersey. I have personally handled many cases falsely charging “Assault Firearm” violations. These cases include the new Marlin Model 60’s (which hold less than 15 rounds), Colt Match Target rifles and their clones, SKS’s with a fixed magazines, 1927 Thompson/Auto Ordinance .45’s, M1 Garand Rifles, MAK-90’s, Marlin Camp Carbine’s, Remington 7600’s, Russian Dragunov’s, and Springfield M1A’s without a bayonet lug, just to name some of the common false charges made against law-abiding New Jersey gun owners.

In the name of “the war on drugs,” be prepared to be kicked out of your home with no due process thanks to Florio, Gormley, and Whitman.

This article may be freely reproduced with credit given to the author, Evan F. Nappen, Esq., (732-389-8888). For more information about New Jersey Gun Law, see http://www.evannappen.com and purchase and read Nappen II: New Jersey Gun, Knife & Weapon Law.

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