(a) Every violation of subsection (a) of Section 13A-11-72 or Section 13A-11-81 shall be a Class C felony. Every violation of subsection (b) of Section 13A-11-72 or Sections 13A-11-73, 13A-11-74, 13A-11-76, and 13A-11-77 through 13A-11-80 shall be a Class A misdemeanor. The punishment for violating Section 13A-11-78 or 13A-11-79 may include revocation of license.
(b) It shall be the duty of any sheriff, policeman, or other peace officer of the State of Alabama, arresting any person charged with violating Sections 13A-11-71 through 13A-11-73, or any one or more of those sections, to seize the pistol or pistols in the possession or under the control of the person or persons charged with violating the section or sections, and to deliver the pistol or pistols to one of the following named persons: if a municipal officer makes the arrest, to the city clerk or custodian of stolen property of the municipality employing the arresting officer; if a county, state, or other peace officer makes the arrest, to the sheriff of the county in which the arrest is made. The person receiving the pistol or pistols from the arresting officer shall keep it in a safe place in as good condition as received until disposed of as hereinafter provided. Within five days after the final conviction of any person arrested for violating any of the above-numbered sections, the person receiving possession of the pistol or pistols, seized as provided in this section, shall report the seizure and detention of the pistol or pistols to the district attorney within the county where the pistol or pistols are seized, giving a full description thereof, the number, make and model thereof, the name of the person in whose possession it was found when seized, the person making claim to same or any interest therein, if the name can be ascertained or is known, and the date of the seizure. Upon receipt of the report from the person receiving possession of the pistol or pistols, it shall be the duty of the district attorney within the county wherein the pistol or pistols were seized to forthwith file a complaint in the circuit court of the proper county, praying that the seized pistol or pistols be declared contraband, be forfeited to the state and be destroyed. Any person, firm or corporation or association of persons in whose possession the pistol or pistols may be seized or who claim to own the same or any interest therein shall be made a party defendant to the complaint, and thereupon the matter shall proceed and be determined in the circuit court of the proper county in the same form and manner, as near as may be, as in the forfeiture and destruction of gaming devices, except as otherwise provided. When any judgment of condemnation and forfeiture is made in any case filed under this section, the judge making the judgment shall direct the destruction of the pistol or pistols by the person receiving possession of the pistol or pistols from the arresting officer in the presence of the clerk or register of the court, unless the judge is of the opinion that the nondestruction thereof is necessary or proper in the ends of justice, in which event and upon recommendation of the district attorney, the judge shall award the pistol or pistols to the sheriff of the county or to the chief of police of the municipality to be used exclusively by the sheriff or the chief of police in the enforcement of law, and the sheriff of the county and the chiefs of police of the municipalities shall keep a permanent record of all pistols awarded to them as provided for in this section, to be accounted for as other public property, and the order, in the event that no appeal is taken within 15 days from the rendition thereof, shall be carried out and executed before the expiration of 20 days from the date of the judgment. The court may direct in the judgment that the costs of the proceedings be paid by the person in whose possession the pistol or pistols were found when seized, or by any party or parties who claim to own the pistol or pistols, or any interest therein, and who contested the condemnation and forfeiture thereof.
(Acts 1936, Ex. Sess., No. 82, p. 51; Code 1940, T. 14, §186; Acts 1947, No. 616, p. 463, §8; Acts 1951, No. 784, p. 1378; Acts 1967, No. 505, p. 1218; Code 1975, §13-6-164; Act 2015-341, §1.)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
16
cases (
1 in the last 5 years), 1982–2025 · leading case:
Gholston v. State, 620 So. 2d 719 (Ala. 1993).
Gholston v. State, 620 So. 2d 719 (Ala. 1993).
· cites it 3× “The rationale behind Wigley is that since the legislature enacted § 13A-11-84, Code of Alabama 1975, which prescribes the sentence for the violation of § 13A-11-72, it did not intend the Habitual Felony Offender Act to apply to convictions obtained under § 13A-11-72.”
Wigley v. State, 456 So. 2d 339 (Ala. Crim. App. 1982).
· cites it 3× “Ala.Code 1975, § 13A-11-84(a). The offense is a Class C felony.”
Kennedy v. State, 929 So. 2d 515 (Ala. Crim. App. 2005).
“Code 1975, could be enhanced under the HFOA even though possession of a pistol under such circumstances was not a classified felony and § 13A-11-84 prescribed a punishment). Child abuse, a violation of § 26-15-3, Ala.”
Gaston v. State, 265 So. 3d 387 (Ala. Crim. App. 2018).
“Code 1975, and § 13A-11-84, Ala. Code 1975. Those aggravating factors were in addition to the aggravating factors established by the jury's guilty verdict: that the murder was committed while the defendant was engaged in a robbery and while the defendant was engaged in a…”
Ringer v. State, 501 So. 2d 493 (Ala. Crim. App. 1986).
“To hold otherwise, would nullify the punishment provision of the currently charged offense as contained in § 13A-11-84(a), Ala.Code 1975, because the prior conviction would always activate the Habitual Felony Offender Act; we do not believe that the legislature intended that…”
Graves v. State, 632 So. 2d 30 (Ala. Crim. App. 1992).
“For such convictions, sentencing must be in accordance with § 13A-11-84(a). Thus, under this statute, the maximum sentence which the appellant could have properly received as a result of his conviction for possession of a pistol after having committed a crime of violence was…”
Hall v. State, 150 So. 3d 771 (Ala. Civ. App. 2014).
· cites it 2× ““In this case, the State filed a complaint, pursuant to § 13A-11-84, [Ala.] Code 1975, ten weeks after the seizure of the vehicle.”
Gholston v. State, 620 So. 2d 715 (Ala. Crim. App. 1992).
· cites it 2× “The rationale behind Wigley is that since the legislature enacted § 13A-11-84, Code of Alabama 1975, which prescribes the sentence for the violation of § 13A-11-72, it did not intend the Habitual Felony Offender Act to apply to convictions obtained under § 13A-11-72.”
Martin v. State, 625 So. 2d 455 (Ala. Crim. App. 1992).
“1901573, September 18, 1992], the Aabama Supreme Court held that the HFOA does not apply to violations of § 13A-ll-72(a), involving the illegal possession of a pistol, because the punishment for a violation of that section is specifically provided for by § 13A-11-84. In Ex parte…”
Bunn v. State, 631 So. 2d 1034 (Ala. Civ. App. 1993).
· cites it 6× “The State filed a complaint in the Circuit Court of Talladega County, requesting the trial court to declare the pistol contraband and forfeited pursuant to Ala.Code 1975, § 13A-11-84. As the State clarified in its second amended complaint and pretrial briefs, its condemnation…”
Gaston v. State, 265 So. 3d 387 (Ala. Crim. App. 2018).
“Code 1975, and § 13A-11-84, Ala. Code 1975. Those aggravating factors were in addition to the aggravating factors established by the jury's guilty verdict: that the murder was committed while the defendant was engaged in a robbery and while the defendant was engaged in a…”
Ala. Code § 13A-11-84(a): 6 cases
Wigley v. State, 456 So. 2d 339 (Ala. Crim. App. 1982).
“Ala.Code 1975, § 13A-11-84(a). The offense is a Class C felony.”
Gholston v. State, 620 So. 2d 719 (Ala. 1993).
“The rationale behind Wigley is that since the legislature enacted § 13A-11-84, Code of Alabama 1975, which prescribes the sentence for the violation of § 13A-11-72, it did not intend the Habitual Felony Offender Act to apply to convictions obtained under § 13A-11-72.”
Ringer v. State, 501 So. 2d 493 (Ala. Crim. App. 1986).
“To hold otherwise, would nullify the punishment provision of the currently charged offense as contained in § 13A-11-84(a), Ala.Code 1975, because the prior conviction would always activate the Habitual Felony Offender Act; we do not believe that the legislature intended that…”
Graves v. State, 632 So. 2d 30 (Ala. Crim. App. 1992).
“For such convictions, sentencing must be in accordance with § 13A-11-84(a). Thus, under this statute, the maximum sentence which the appellant could have properly received as a result of his conviction for possession of a pistol after having committed a crime of violence was…”
Ala. Code § 13A-11-84(b): 1 case
Bunn v. State, 631 So. 2d 1034 (Ala. Civ. App. 1993).
“The State filed a complaint in the Circuit Court of Talladega County, requesting the trial court to declare the pistol contraband and forfeited pursuant to Ala.Code 1975, § 13A-11-84. As the State clarified in its second amended complaint and pretrial briefs, its condemnation…”
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treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.