AGGRAVATED UNLAWFUL USE OF A WEAPON

One of the first things to understand here is that when this law speaks of “use” here, that just means possession of such a weapon (even if someone else owns it). That means that in practical terms this is a gun law. You could only have the weapon in storage, and it would not matter. When you carry a weapon such as a pistol, revolver, handgun, Taser, or stun gun, or other firearm in a public place, defined broadly as somewhere besides your home, property, or place of business or else as not an armed invitee of someone else’s property, home, or business, those are the essential elements of unlawful use of a weapon. What then aggravates that charge are such other factors as: 

• if you are carrying a firearm other than a pistol, revolver, handgun, Taser, or stun gun (such as a rifle or shotgun) and have that weapon uncased, loaded, and immediately accessible to you, or 
• you are carrying a loaded pistol, revolver, handgun, Taser, or stun gun without an FOID card, or, 
• you are carrying a firearm other than a pistol, revolver, handgun, Taser, or stun gun (such as a rifle or shotgun) and have that weapon unloaded, uncased and accessible and have its ammunition immediately accessible, or 
• you are carrying an unloaded pistol, revolver, handgun, Taser, or stun gun with immediately accessible ammunition without having an FOID card, or 
• you are carrying the weapon without an FOID card, or 
• you are carrying the weapon and had been earlier judged to be a delinquent minor under the Juvenile Court Act for a crime that would have been a felony if you had been an adult, or 
• while having the weapon you were engaged in a misdemeanor violation of the Cannabis Control Act or of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act, or of the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act, or 
• you had been subject to an order of protection to stay away from someone in the last two years, or
• you were committing a misdemeanor involving the using or threatening violence against someone else’s person or property, or 
• you were under 21 and the weapon was a handgun and you were not engaged in activities making the possession of the firearm lawful (such as the Wildlife Code).

The above factors count as an element toward an unlawful use of a weapon charge (in addition to the element of possessing a firearm in a forbidden place as described in the first part above) unless:

• the weapon was broken down in a non-functioning state; or
• was not immediately accessible; or 
• was unloaded and enclosed in a container or box by a someone with a currently valid Firearm Owner's Identification Card.

The two elements which the prosecution must prove are first that you possessed or had access to a firearm in a place and circumstances prohibited by law (usually but not always a public place), and secondly that you possessed the firearm under circumstances making it unlawful for you to possess it.

The government must prove that the gun was loaded, uncased and immediately accessible. Therefore, it is a defense to this charge if the gun is recovered in such a position that the suspect could not easily reach it. An example would be a person arrested for possessing a gun in their trunk.

How we can defend you against an aggravated unlawful use of a weapon charge

•  We can argue that it was a case of mistaken identity if it was not physically on you or visible to you (it was someone else’s weapon and not yours, meaning you did not know about it and the element of intention was therefore not present). 
•  We might argue that you had immediate need of it for self-defense as a possible mitigating circumstance, or that in certain circumstances it was cased or unloaded and so you are not culpable here, or that you were not in the above specified places or carrying the specific weapons making you culpable. 
•  We can dispute the facts and testimony of witnesses or officers for this charge about factors (such as the weapon’s easy accessibility or its being concealed) by filing “motions to suppress” unreliable, improperly obtained, or other questionable evidence or testimony (especially if you were improperly questioned or were not made aware of your rights). 
•  If the evidence or testimony is still admitted by the judge, we can argue at trial that the evidence or testimony is incorrect or fabricated against you and therefore should give the jurors a reasonable doubt. 

This is where having an experienced attorney to represent you and negotiate and speak for you can save years of your life and large fines and/or foregone income.

You deserve the best possible defense. Other lawyers so often talk of how they will “aggressively fight for you.” They are doing nothing more than basically quoting from the American Bar Association’s Rules of Professional Conduct about the principle of a “lawyer's obligation to zealously protect and pursue a client's legitimate interests, within the bounds of the law.”  When you hire Phillip Haddad as your criminal defense attorney in Chicago or elsewhere in its suburban area, he will not only do his professional duty to zealously represent you but will get you the justice you deserve. His extensive experience in criminal defense will help you avoid conviction or else minimize the penalties. Call criminal defense attorney Phillip Haddad at 708-833-3505 as soon as possible if you are in legal trouble.