In the event that your application for a pistol license is denied or that your pistol license has been revoked, there is a mechanism in the courts that allows you to bring what is known as an Article 78 proceeding. The Police Department is an administrative agency, and so their determination is not final in terms of what will ultimately happen with your pistol license. If you have appealed their decision internally and they have upheld their original decision to either deny you the permit or to revoke your existing permit, then all final remedies within the administrative agency have been completed, and you can bring an Article 78 proceeding in the Supreme Court in the county in which you reside. In that Article 78 proceeding what you do is you argue that the basis for the Police Department’s decision to deny you the permit or revoke it was arbitrary and capricious and was not based on a rational basis.
In many instances, especially in domestic violence issues, it turns out while a case may have at the outset appeared that there was a violation of the law, when the case is ultimately resolved, it turns out that many of the allegations were ultimately fabricated and the criminal case was dismissed. However, the Police Department would suspend your license upon the arrest as well as the issuance of any order of protection. The benefit of the Article 78 proceeding is that it is given and submitted to a Supreme Court judge who has had years of experience in terms of evaluating these types of administrative decisions, and they look to see whether or not there was a rational basis, whether there was any underlying information that the Police Department did or did not rely upon, and in their determination, they have the right to overturn the Police Department’s denial of your permit or its revocation, and you can be issued a permit in that regard.
What we also recommend is that the FBI has their own system in terms of doing background checks and things of that nature, and what we recommend is there is a mechanism within the federal law that allows you to apply for a waiver if you should have a conviction of any kind.
If you are in need of legal counsel in New York State, please feel free to contact Grunwald & Seman, P.C. and we would be happy to assist you.
