Ohio Code 2923.14 – Relief from weapons disability
(A)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(2) of this section, any person who is prohibited from acquiring, having, carrying, or using firearms may apply to the court of common pleas in the county in which the person resides for relief from such prohibition.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 2923.14
- Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- imprisonment: means being imprisoned under a sentence imposed for an offense or serving a term of imprisonment, prison term, jail term, term of local incarceration, or other term under a sentence imposed for an offense in an institution under the control of the department of rehabilitation and correction, a county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse, a minimum security jail, a community-based correctional facility, or another facility described or referred to in section 2929. See Ohio Code 1.05
- Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
(2) Division (A)(1) of this section does not apply to a person who has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a violation of section 2923.132 of the Revised Code or to a person who, two or more times, has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a felony and a specification of the type described in section 2941.141, 2941.144, 2941.145, 2941.146, 2941.1412, or 2941.1424 of the Revised Code.
(B) The application shall recite the following:
(1) All indictments, convictions, or adjudications upon which the applicant’s disability is based, the sentence imposed and served, and any release granted under a community control sanction, post-release control sanction, or parole, any partial or conditional pardon granted, or other disposition of each case, or, if the disability is based upon a factor other than an indictment, a conviction, or an adjudication, the factor upon which the disability is based and all details related to that factor;
(2) Facts showing the applicant to be a fit subject for relief under this section.
(C) A copy of the application shall be served on the county prosecutor. The county prosecutor shall cause the matter to be investigated and shall raise before the court any objections to granting relief that the investigation reveals.
(D) Upon hearing, the court may grant the applicant relief pursuant to this section, if all of the following apply:
(1) One of the following applies:
(a) If the disability is based upon an indictment, a conviction, or an adjudication, the applicant has been fully discharged from imprisonment, community control, post-release control, and parole, or, if the applicant is under indictment, has been released on bail or recognizance.
(b) If the disability is based upon a factor other than an indictment, a conviction, or an adjudication, that factor no longer is applicable to the applicant.
(2) The applicant has led a law-abiding life since discharge or release, and appears likely to continue to do so.
(3) The applicant is not otherwise prohibited by law from acquiring, having, or using firearms.
(E) Costs of the proceeding shall be charged as in other civil cases, and taxed to the applicant.
(F) Relief from disability granted pursuant to this section restores the applicant to all civil firearm rights to the full extent enjoyed by any citizen, and is subject to the following conditions:
(1) Applies only with respect to indictments, convictions, or adjudications, or to the other factor, recited in the application as the basis for the applicant’s disability;
(2) Applies only with respect to firearms lawfully acquired, possessed, carried, or used by the applicant;
(3) May be revoked by the court at any time for good cause shown and upon notice to the applicant;
(4) Is automatically void upon commission by the applicant of any offense set forth in division (A)(2) or (3) of section 2923.13 of the Revised Code, or upon the applicant’s becoming one of the class of persons named in division (A)(1), (4), or (5) of that section.
(G) As used in this section:
(1) “Community control sanction” has the same meaning as in section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.
(2) “Post-release control” and “post-release control sanction” have the same meanings as in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code.