Don't Go To A Warning Conference Or Administrative Hearing Without Your Own Attorney!
The following information is based on the administrative hearing transcript in Wiley Outdoor Sports, Inc. v. Gonzales et al., (Civil Case No. CV-06-S-0192-NE) filed with the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama, and is available on the Federal court P.A.C.E.R. public information system.
In this hearing, the licensee asked the ATF lawyer's "opinion" whether they should get their own attorney. The ATF attorney responded by saying, among other things, that a firearms license hearing is "not a matter where people can make legal arguments . . . when lawyers try to, we tell them [they] can't do that. This is not the appropriate place."
If the licensee had retained an attorney, the attorney should have known that the regulations have very few requirements, allowing anything that is relevant to be submitted in a hearing. There is nothing in the firearms licensing regulations giving either the ATF lawyer or the hearing officer the authority to "tell" a licensee's attorney not to make legal arguments. The only appropriate issue is whether legal arguments are relevant, but again, the regulations provide no authority to anyone at the hearing to make this determination - much less to "tell" a licensee what they can and cannot submit for the hearing record.
Interestingly, after this exchange regarding legal arguments, the ATF lawyer addressed the meaning of the legal standard of willfulness. The bottom line is, don't look to the ATF lawyer to help you, or even to provide useful information at the hearing.
ATF has a lawyer at the hearing, why shouldn't you?
The bottom-line is, don't risk going to a hearing without a seasoned attorney who is familiar with the Gun Control Act and ATF's administrative procedures.
This web site is designed for general information only. The information presented here is not legal advice and does not create a lawyer/client relationship.