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STATE OF RIDGEWAY
STATE OF RIDGWAY
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DOCKET NO. RSC-CM-872
Plaintiff
v.
RICHARDREVENANT
Defendant
MOTION TO DISMISS COUNT TWO
It is an expectation of the government to prosecute those who violate the law, but only the
law that is applicable at the time. The government has proposed a charge of Unlawful Possession
of a Firearm; though, at the time of the alleged incident, the firearm was not unlawful and the
Defendant was in his legal right to have possession of it. It is a well-known certitude that
criminal offenses occurring before they were outlawed or enforced have no standing to be
prosecuted. The United States Supreme Court has, time and time again, upheld this translucent
obligation and it has been an established edict for centuries.
For these reasons, the Defendant hereby submits this Motion to Dismiss Count Two – 5.
R.C.C. § 1 - Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.
I. THE MICRO WAS NOT ILLEGAL AT THE TIME OF THE ALLEGED INCIDENT
The prohibition against ex post facto laws, as established by the United States Supreme
Court, does not confer upon a criminal the entitlement to be tried in accordance with the laws
that were in effect at the time the alleged crime was committed. As stated in Gibson v.
Mississippi, 162 U.S. 565, 590 (1896), this principle serves as a safeguard against arbitrary and
oppressive legislation. In the present case, the Micro-uzi, referred to as such by the prosecution,
was a legally-obtained firearm on January 2nd, 2023. Subsequently, on January 18th, 2023, the
State Firearms Act was enacted, which imposed a ban on the possession of the said firearm. The
defendant, who held a valid RFLID and was a lawful gun owner, was entitled to the protection of
the Second Amendment in relation to the possession and carrying of the Micro-uzi. It would be
fundamentally unjust for this court to permit a criminal charge to stand solely on the basis of a
law that was enacted after the commission of the alleged offense.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, Defendant RichardRevenant respectfully moves this Court to
dismiss Count Two – 5. R.C.C. § 1 - Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, as exhibited in the
Criminal Information.
Respectfully Submitted,
/s/ ElloM8HowAreYou
Public Defender
PUBLIC DEFENDER’S OFFICE
Counsel of Record
DATE: 01/23/2023
Document record
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Jan 16, 2023 12:00 PM
Filed
Jan 16, 2023 12:00 PM
Filing code
CRIMINAL_COMPLAINT
Uploaded by
state of ridgeway
Notes
Motion to Dismiss Count 2.pdf — archived from the Trello docket (https://trello.com/c/ZN3tBy4s)
