Firearm Serial Obliteration Laws Challenged

When police arrested Juan Quinones in 2002, the handgun they accused him of packing had its serial number obliterated. Illinois state law at that time stated that merely possessing such a gun was prima facie evidence to also charge a person with obliterating the number.

But a recent ruling by the Appellate Court of Illinois declares this law unconstitutional. This could open the door to reversals for other people convicted of the same crime. Though the state law was amended last year, the court said those convicted under the old language were convicted against the presumption of innocence granted to anyone arrested for a crime.
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