Court of appeals reverses decision by Clinton County court
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The Twelfth District Court of Appeals has reversed the conviction of a Kentucky man in Clinton County Municipal Court for an alleged violation of a protective order issued by a court of another state.
According to the court, John Haney was arrested after police officers believed him to be in possession of firearms at a gun show held at Roberts Convention Center in Clinton County in violation of a protection order issued against him in Grant County, Kentucky. At a bench trial, the judge convicted him of violation of a protective order issued by a court of another state.
Haney appealed to the Twelfth District and argued that the prohibition against his possession of firearms came only from a federal statute, and that it was not a violation of the state protection order. He argued that the reference to the federal law prohibiting a person who is subject to a domestic violence protection from possessing firearms was merely a warning of the existence of the federal law, and not an additional term of the protection order itself.
Writing for a unanimous court, Judge Robin N. Piper found that while the state protective order provides Haney notice that he is subject to the federal law, neither of the references to the federal statute contained within the order expressly incorporate those federal restrictions on firearm possession into the state protection order.
Therefore, it would appear Haney has possessed firearms while subject to a protection order in violation of the federal law, yet he has not violated any terms of the actual protection order itself. Presiding Judge Stephen W. Powell and Judge Robert A. Hendrickson concurred in the opinion.
The decision of the Twelfth District Court of Appeals reversed and vacated Haney's conviction for violation of a protective order issued by a court of another state.
The Twelfth District Court of Appeals has reversed the conviction of a Kentucky man in Clinton County Municipal Court for an alleged violation of a protective order issued by a court of another state.
According to the court, John Haney was arrested after police officers believed him to be in possession of firearms at a gun show held at Roberts Convention Center in Clinton County in violation of a protection order issued against him in Grant County, Kentucky. At a bench trial, the judge convicted him of violation of a protective order issued by a court of another state.
Haney appealed to the Twelfth District and argued that the prohibition against his possession of firearms came only from a federal statute, and that it was not a violation of the state protection order. He argued that the reference to the federal law prohibiting a person who is subject to a domestic violence protection from possessing firearms was merely a warning of the existence of the federal law, and not an additional term of the protection order itself.
Writing for a unanimous court, Judge Robin N. Piper found that while the state protective order provides Haney notice that he is subject to the federal law, neither of the references to the federal statute contained within the order expressly incorporate those federal restrictions on firearm possession into the state protection order.
Therefore, it would appear Haney has possessed firearms while subject to a protection order in violation of the federal law, yet he has not violated any terms of the actual protection order itself. Presiding Judge Stephen W. Powell and Judge Robert A. Hendrickson concurred in the opinion.
The decision of the Twelfth District Court of Appeals reversed and vacated Haney's conviction for violation of a protective order issued by a court of another state.
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