The governor of New Jersey has just commuted the sentence of Brian Aitken, 27, sentenced to seven years in prison for bringing his guns and ammunition when he moved to the state of New Jersey. Read about it HERE

It did indeed become a cause célèbre among gun owners’ civil rights activists. There are some serious questions about how his trial was conducted. More than anything else, it seems to be a condemnation of the patchwork quilt of gun laws, fifty patches strong, that we gun owners have to deal with state-by-state as we travel through our own country.

A major question is, why a mere commutation instead of a complete pardon? I am happy that he is out from behind bars and with his loved ones for the Christmas holidays, but my reading of it is that he’s still a convicted felon and can no longer own firearms. I just don’t see where that’s justified.

One attorney friend of mine suggested that the Governor was righteous in commuting the sentence, but should have gone further. Another lawyer replied, “ I think he (the Governor of New Jersey) has plenty of cojones (vulgar Spanish for “testicles”). He’s a former US Attorney, and has done nothing constructive for gun laws in NJ. To the contrary, he appointed an anti-gun Attorney General. So I doubt that he truly wanted to give a full pardon but lacked the nerve. To the contrary, I think he believed the conviction to be just, but the trial unfair and the sentence excessive.”

Mr. Aitken is currently represented by Evan Nappen, a gun-savvy attorney who literally wrote the book on firearms laws there. I’ve met Evan, and I think his client is in good hands.

My hat is off to the many good people who sent both money and letters to the right places to help get this young man out from under a Draconian sentence for something that could have happened to any honest American moving cross-country. More information and background can be found at this website: http://briandaitken.com.

Did Brian Aitken get justice for Christmas? The commutation was certainly a good start. But did he get justice ENOUGH?

My own reading is that he didn’t get as fair a trial as he should have. But I don’t live in New Jersey. We have folks who read this blog who do…and some who are attorneys…and a whole lot of people with common sense.

What say YOU?

1 COMMENT

  2. I say Aitken should have been pardoned (and never convicted). But, like most politicians on the right and left, the Governor does not truly care if common people can have access to firearms. He did this to make himself look good and increase his chances of winning the next election.

  3. I thought the same thing, and after some (admittedly light) research, this is what I found out:

    1. His lawyers specifically asked for the commuting of the sentence, not a pardon.
    2. The commuting allows him to be released from prison much faster than a pardon would have.
    3. His lawyers are confident that they can appeal the conviction and overturn it, effectively wiping the felony from his record.

    This seems like a plausible set of reasons to me.

    Yeah, it was a pretty dumb convinction. Federalism’s limit should be where the bill of rights begins, and this patchwork of firearms laws shows an immoral overlap of those rights.

  4. When I heard Evan Nappen talking about this on Gun Talk Radio he stated they were asking for a commuted sentece. I think it is believed from his statements that the jury did not want to find Mr. Aitken guilty but were not “Allowed” to consider the exemtion statutes by the judge. I belive they feel strongly they will win on appeal and possibly make stronger legal precedent and impact than if Mr. Aitken had been pardoned.

  5. As I understand it, a pardon, though it restores rights, means “guilty but forgiven,” while a commutation just removes the remainder of the sentence.

    By commuting the sentence, Governor Christie is allowing Aitken to appeal the conviction from the comfort of his home, and possibly set precedent as he does.

    For all we know, his attorneys may have asked for one or the other.

  7. Well he asked for a commutation and not a pardon? Seems strange doesn’t it? Well maybe it isnt. Remember he still has his case in the appeals process. What if his end game is to use the Heller and Macdonald decisions to not only vacate his sentence but also to upend the New Jersey gun laws? Mighty big gamble but it’s very well within the realm of reality.

  8. The key question in the case seems to be whether he was “moving” his guns from one residence to another. This seems to be a situation where the law seems to be written plainly, but where individual judgment on the part of an officer or DA can produce a non-intuitive interpretation. It’s also interesting that Judge Morley declined to let the jury know about the moving exemption, saying that there wasn’t evidence that Mr. Aiken was moving. Seems like judging evidence ought to be the jury’s job, not the judge’s, but that’s not how real trials often go.

    I was disappointed when I first read about the case that Mr. Aiken apparently consented to the search of his vehicle. I don’t think there’s usually a reason for a person, even one who believes him or her-self to be innocent, to consent to a police search. You’re not an expert on the law; you’re not aware of the things that a police officer can or can’t arrest you for. Who knows if something in your car or on your person could be perceived as breaking the law. Even if you turn out to be right, spending the night in jail, having to come up with bail, and then having to hire a lawyer to argue on your behalf, are substantial costs for an officer’s mistake. This is especially true if you, for example, possess firearms in a state like NJ or NY, where there is a clear culture in government that is opposed to private firearm ownership. And that, perhaps, may be the strongest take-home message of all: if you own guns in a gun-hating state, you take substantial risk even if you do everything you can to comply with the law.

  11. I can’t believe the judge was allowed to withhold that information from the jury. On GOA, supposedly the jurors even asked if there was some legal exemption for the defendant. Seems like obstruction of justice to me…

    Hopefully this will end up being another victory for the 2A.

    Another reason why I’ll never go to the East Coast (or the West Coast for that matter).

  12. I was beaten to the punch by the rest. 🙂 I agree that it was strategy. Problem number one was getting Brian out of prison and time was of the essence. Problems two and three are purging his record and setting precedent to prevent this from happening again. They have plenty of time to do that.

    Plus, based on what I’m reading from other posters here, Christie may not be a reliable 2nd Amendment supporter so a commutation was a safer bet.

    Now he can be cleaned up, sans orange jumper and he’ll make an excellent poster boy. If our organizations do a good job of showing just how NOT a criminal he is, he’ll have a better shot at that pardon.

    Merry Christmas Mas. Love the blog and podcast.

    Micah

  13. I am glad his sentence was commuted and I am sure his conviction will be overturned.
    If you live in NJ or NY or any other state that hates gun owners. It is time to draft laws that make those state, county, and local government entities directly, criminally, and civilly liable for failure to protect citizens who become victims of any violent crime. If you make them accountable for their restricting the 2nd amendment rights of their citizens, you might see some common sense laws passed there.
    I live in the free state of Florida, we have some of the best gun laws in the country. Hit your governments in the pocketbook, it will make an impact.

  14. It was a disgrace to begin with to sentence this man to prison when violent felons are realeased back to the streets. His sentence should have been completely communted, period amen. The bleeding heart liberals in NY and NJ make me sick, they have always been for the criminals and against people owning guns, pepper spray or anything you might use to defend yourself against violent criminals.

  15. One of the main reason’s we left our home state (NJ) over 20 years ago and we even shudder when the thought of visiting family comes up. I hope Mr. Nappen along with the ANJRPC and the NRA will do it’s best to make this horrible show of “justice” into the start of the snowball that takes out these draconian laws in NJ. The 1st thing that made me upset and angry is that a justice placed into such a position to “protect the people” is going to use his position in office to further his personal belief’s, it’s clear that he is biased. I’d love to see if he can be taken off the bar and removed as a justice, apparently he can not try some cases fairly. My 2nd thought was that the facts that I read were sketchy at best, was he moving was he not moving what constitutes a move? I am not 100% towards the defendant, yes I know some of the arcane NJ laws since I owned firearms in that state and even in the 80’s they were horrible, I am sure much more now but I know transport was tough. To and From work or a firearms range and if out of state only through the state while going to or from a sanctioned competition or hunting and WHILE MOVING. There were reports that he had already been living in NJ for several months???
    Glad he is out, glad this has started trouble for NJ politicians and glad that it will not be swept underneath the carpet since it was NOT a pardon. Hopefully they will appeal and have it dismissed and hopefully they will find that he was unjustly tried and held captive. BUT is it not true that a goverment agency can not be sued for something they did even if proven that it was done with clear intent ? I’d love to see the state of NJ and the county he was tried in sued for all they got! Maybe they will think twice the next time but we know that will not happen and what do they have to lose from doing it again and AGAIN!

  16. And to think I moved from New York City to New Jersey is the seventies because the gun laws in NJ were much more liberal.

    — Written from my home for 36 years in sunny Florida.

  17. Sir:
    I have a dumb question, since the guns were unloaded, stored in a locked compartment unavailable to the passenger compartment of the vehicle, and the ammo was separate from the guns, how did the government have a case? And if New Jersey is an open carry state, should he have just open carried?

    Thanks

    Charles Wright

  19. Mas, once again you stated it all. Mr. Aitken was on the Fox morning show this morning and stated he has to continue the fight and he stated himself he is still a convicted felon and will fight to overturn the conviction. If the full pardon would erase the felony conviction then the Governor missed the boat. Good Mr. Aitken is out of the gray bar, BUT he is still a convicted felon. Time will tell how this all shakes out and as a side note what will be the time frame and most important HOW MUCH MONEY will he spend to overturn the felony conviction.

  20. Full Pardon… but until the NJ laws are repealed, it is what it is. Time to “Vote” those legislator’s out..

    On another note… recently to hit the headlines was the FL School Board shooter who received a lot of publicity in the shadows of the UN’s Small Arms Treaty and the BATFE’s request to more closely monitor sales of long guns along border states (Hmmm, FL included?).

    My point is this, Kudo’s to the Security Guard, but there seems to be a contradiction in how this is being celebrated in the Mainstream Press. This Guard becomes an instant hero with no criticism or fear of Civil Action… yet, when a homeowner protects his home and family at 2:30a and shoots the armed intruder, they face the wrath of the Law, etc. and is essentially ruled “guilty” until proven “innocent”? still facing Civil suit.

    With that, did anyone count the rounds fired by the School Board shooter in the video replay? He fired 10-rounds…never replacing the extra magazine in his pocket. Initially, FOX News reported that his 9mm only held 9 rounds… even with 9+1 capacity, that comes to 10-rounds… yet supposedly the Gunman fired a lethal round to end his life (that’s 11 rounds). Then on the mainstream, it was reported the shooter still had 14-rounds left in his magazine, which would mean his 9mm had a 24-round capacity, enabling him to take his own life?? My question is, not having an extended magazine on his 9mm, which 9mm semi-auto has a 24 round magazine capacity… or is there one?? Is it possible the Security Guard placed the life-ending shot to the shooters head and not being reported? Again, Kudo’s to the Security Guard for stepping -up. It would appear this guy had previous weapon violations, not to mention his mental disorder… and its this type of slip-up that hurts law abiding citizens when the gun grabbers come after us

  22. I am storing this incident as a reminder how important a nationwide carry law really is. With the Supreme Court supporting the constitution in finding gun possession an individual right, we now need to set the standards for legal carry accross state lines anywhere in this nation. Things aren’t going well in the U.S. right now and I want to be sure I am not adding to the law violations and culture of weapon secrecy. I want to know where I stand, because I am going to stand UP for my self and my family. I am not sure Mr. Aitken’s behavior is without question, but his felony conviction should be overturned.

  23. As a Jewess in the US, I want to remind everyone that criminals are stopped by FIREARMS, not by cheap talk. And that America wasn’t won with a registered gun! It is the actions of JERKS like the pathetic “judge” in this case which are the reason why all REAL Americans must put our 2nd Amendment FIRST!!

  24. Charles Wright. I can’t imagine where you obtained information that NJ is open carry. Here in the Peoples Replubic of New Jersey, the law starts out with the basic premise that you CAN’T OWN A GUN,unless you meet certain exemptions!!

  25. I think the kid’s lawyer is on the right track from the tid bits of info I’ve seen. If there is still such a thing as justice in NJ, let’s hope it prevails.

    One of the articles I read also said they found some high capacity magazines (i.e. more than 10 rnds) and “boxes” of HP ammo too. The firearms were unloaded and disassembled and stored separately in the locked trunk.

    I’ve never understood the rational of banning hollow-point ammunition. Then again, logic and rational thinking have nothing to do with gun control laws.

    But seriously, hard ball ammo (FMJ) and even LRN, have the potential of penetrating walls and perps, thereby endangering other people who may be in the vacinity. If anything, hollowpoint ammo should be required for all defensive purposes.

    And what difference does it make if someone has one 17 round magazine or two 10 round mags? (I know, I know, it’s about two or three seconds for most folks, unless your name is Jerry Miculek.)

    In any case, I concur with Terry’s post. It’s about time we straighten out the hodgepodge of carry laws across this nation and let law-abiding citizens exercise their constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms.

    John Chick
    Monmouth, ME

    “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” –Thomas Jefferson to Charles Yancey, 1816. ME 14:384

  26. Ditto to John in ME’s comments.
    He should never have been convicted in the first place. The Judge is the one that needs to be evaluated for his fitness to be serving as justice in the court.

  27. Sentence was way out of line. But a person must check the laws of every state that he travels through or moves to in this day and age. It is sad to say but true. When my family and I travel I try to remember to check the state laws for concealed carry. Living in the south,I would need to travel several hours by car to ever worry about a problem. Great blog Mas,good info always.

  28. To: Mark Laderwarg

    In 1967 I was sent back to Fort Monmouth, NJ for a duty assignment in the US Army. Disliking it so much the first time I went to the Pentagon and made an in person request to be sent to Vietnam. The Warrant Officer in charge ask me why. I held out my left hand and said New Jersey. Then I held out my right hand and said Vietnam. I repeated that about twice. He then replied, “I understand.” I was gone in 60 days and never looked back. Bad then, bad now.