Serving Jersey City, Hudson County & all of New Jersey · Free Consultations · Se Habla Español
Serving Jersey City, Hudson County & all of New Jersey · Free Consultations · Se Habla Español
Unlawful possession of a handgun in Jersey City is a second-degree crime under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(b), carrying 5–10 years with a Graves Act mandatory minimum of 42 months or one-third to one-half of the sentence. Possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose (2C:39-4) is a second-degree crime. Certain persons — those with disqualifying convictions — face 2C:39-7. A county-prosecutor Graves Act waiver can reduce the mandatory term to one year or permit probation.
2C:39-5 makes it a crime to possess a firearm without the required New Jersey permit or firearms purchaser identification card: a handgun is second degree, a rifle or shotgun third degree. 2C:39-4 makes possession of any weapon with a purpose to use it unlawfully against a person or property a second-degree crime when the weapon is a firearm. 2C:39-7 — certain persons not to possess — applies to anyone with a disqualifying prior conviction and carries its own mandatory minimum, with a five-year term for many predicates.
The Graves Act is what makes these cases urgent. It requires a mandatory period of parole ineligibility — the greater of 42 months or one-third to one-half of the sentence — for most firearm offenses, including simple unlawful possession by someone with no record. New Jersey does not recognize out-of-state carry permits, so a licensed permit holder from Pennsylvania or Texas stopped on the Turnpike Extension faces the same second-degree charge as anyone else. The counterweight is the Graves Act waiver under 2C:43-6.2: on the county prosecutor’s application, the assignment judge may reduce the mandatory minimum to one year or place the defendant on probation. Obtaining that waiver from the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office is the central work in most of these cases.
2C:39-5(b) · second degree · Graves Act
2C:39-5(c) · third degree
2C:39-4 · second degree · purpose is contested
2C:39-7 · prior conviction predicate · mandatory minimum
Turnpike and tunnel stops · waiver candidates
2C:39-3(f) · fourth degree · home and range exceptions
2C:39-3(j) · fourth degree
2C:39-4.1 · separate mandatory-minimum crime
Seizure and return hearings
2C:39-3 and 2C:39-5(d) · graded by item and purpose
| Charge | Statute | Grade | Mandatory minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unlawful possession of a handgun | 2C:39-5(b) | Second degree | Graves Act: 42 months or 1/3–1/2 |
| Unlawful possession of a rifle or shotgun | 2C:39-5(c) | Third degree | Graves Act applies |
| Possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose (firearm) | 2C:39-4(a) | Second degree | Graves Act applies |
| Certain persons not to possess a firearm | 2C:39-7(b) | Second degree | 5 years without parole for many predicates |
| Firearm while committing a CDS offense | 2C:39-4.1 | Second degree | Consecutive, no parole |
| Hollow-point ammunition | 2C:39-3(f) | Fourth degree | None |
| Graves Act waiver granted | 2C:43-6.2 | — | 1 year, or probation |
The Holland Tunnel approaches, the Turnpike Extension and Route 440 funnel interstate traffic through Jersey City, and a routine stop that produces a lawfully owned, lawfully carried-at-home firearm produces a New Jersey second-degree charge. We have handled many of these: a licensed carrier from another state, no criminal history, the gun properly registered at home. The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office has a process for Graves Act waivers in exactly that situation, and the outcome depends on how completely the mitigating record is presented and how early.
For residents, the fight is usually the search. Jersey City street stops that produce guns often involve a frisk based on a bulge, a furtive movement, or an anonymous tip — each of which has a body of New Jersey law limiting it. A successful suppression motion ends a second-degree case outright.
No. New Jersey does not recognize carry permits issued by other states. A person lawfully licensed elsewhere who is stopped with a handgun in Jersey City faces a second-degree unlawful possession charge — though a valid home-state permit and a clean record are strong support for a Graves Act waiver.
A New Jersey sentencing law requiring a mandatory period of parole ineligibility — generally 42 months, or one-third to one-half of the sentence — for most firearm offenses, including simple unlawful possession. Under 2C:43-6.2 the county prosecutor may consent to a waiver reducing that to one year or to probation.
Yes, most often through suppression. If the stop, frisk or search that produced the firearm violated the Fourth Amendment or the New Jersey Constitution, the weapon is excluded and the case ends. Possession and knowledge are also contested where the firearm was found in a shared car or home.
Possession of hollow-point ammunition is a fourth-degree crime under 2C:39-3(f), with exceptions that include keeping them at your home or place of business and transporting them to and from a range. The exceptions are the defense in most of these charges.
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Ibrahim & Ibrahim Law Firm
910 Bergen Ave, Suite 203
Jersey City, NJ 07306
Directions · a five-minute walk from Journal Square PATH; two blocks from the courthouse complex
