Insights & News

Rules under the NFA allow NFA items to be owned by, and tax stamps issued to trusts rather than individual people. 27 C.F.R. § 479.11. This mitigates the second of the two significant limitations placed on NFA items because the NFA items owned by the trust may be passed around freely among the parties named in the trust. For example, assume a man owns a short-barreled rifle that his wife wants to shoot on a trip without her husband. If the husband and wife are not on an NFA trust that owns the short-barreled rifle, the husband would have to […]

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right of the people to keep and bear arms. And as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen in 2022, the right to bear arms necessarily includes the right to carry. But the right to carry is not absolute and knowing when you can and can’t exercise it could be critical to keeping you out of jail. In the case of United States v. Jackson, a man named Brandon Glen Jackson found himself charged under 18 U.S.C. […]

The 2025 Virginia Supreme Court decision in Commonwealth v. Hubbard underscores the complexities of Fourth Amendment protections in drug-related searches. In this case, Shanta Hubbard was convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine after an officer performed a warrantless search of his person after initiating a traffic stop. In Hubbard, a police officer in Lynchburg, Virginia stopped Hubbard for observed traffic violations. According to the officer, he witnessed Hubbard driving erratically and noted that his windows appeared to be tinted beyond the legal limit. After initiating the stop, the officer smelled marijuana, found suspicious items in Hubbard’s vehicle, and conducted a […]

PROTECT YOUR DISABILITY COMPENSATION WITH INFORMED LEGAL COUNSEL The 2025 Federal Circuit decision in Wright v. Collins clarifies critical limitations on veterans’ disability compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1115 when dependents receive educational benefits. In this case, Rodney Wright, a totally disabled veteran, sought additional compensation for his adult daughter pursuing education, but the court upheld the VA’s denial due to his daughter’s election of Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA) benefits under Chapter 35. The ruling, grounded in the unambiguous text of 38 U.S.C. § 3562, highlights the need for precise navigation of VA regulations to avoid benefit conflicts. In deciding Wright, […]