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Serial Number Enhancements in Gun Cases

By Melody Evans and Kirk Redmond

We have seen a few PSRs enhancing gun defendants because the weapon did not have a serial number. This is not a valid enhancement, for two reasons. First, the enhancement applies to an "obliterated" serial number, not an absent one. Second, many older firearms never had a serial number in the first place. Prior to the Gun Control Act of 1968, manufacturers were not required to serial number their firearms. The fact that your client?s gun does not have a serial number may simply mean that the firearm was manufactured before the Gun Control Act was passed, or that it was manufactured overseas without a serial number. The Tenth Circuit has already determined that, in such circumstances, the enhancement is inappliable. United States v. Laughrin, 438 F...continue to full post

Full post as published by Kansas Federal Defender on April 11, 2008 (boomark / email).