If a law is ruled Unconstitutional & a person was convicted under it is their conviction overturned?

[Aim1]

Take NJ and this former Marine's case for example. Supposedly he had a carry permit out of VA but not one for NJ. He gets caught with a gun and sentenced to a mandatory sentence which Gov. Christie thankfully commuted. However, his conviction still stands which I believe would make him a felon and no longer able to own guns.

If he took his case to the US Supreme Court and they stated that you can carry outside your home no matter what state and that NJ's permitting requirements were unconstitutional would this Marine's conviction be overturned and he could thus own guns again and no longer be a felon?




http://abc7ny.com/news/marine-facing-mandatory-prison-for-gun-charge-has-sentence-commuted/1873957/

GOV. CHRISTIE COMMUTES SENTENCE OF MARINE FACING MANDATORY 3-YEAR TERM FOR GUN CHARGE

Friday, April 14, 2017 06:26PM

NEW YORK (WABC) --
A decorated Marine veteran facing a mandatory three years behind bars on a gun charge will not be going to prison, after New Jersey Governor Chris Christie stepped in and commuted his sentence Friday.

Marine Sergeant Hisashi Pompey's conviction stands, but the penalty is gone. Additionally, a full pardon remains under review.

1.) If a law is ruled Unconstitutional & a person was convicted under it is their conviction overturned?

2.) And would a full pardon overturn his conviction?

 

[bikemutt]

As far as I know a full pardon makes a felony conviction go away.

 

[AirForceShooter]

I'm not sure what Christie did.
Some articles are saying commutation others pardon.

There is one hell of a difference

AFS

 

[Aim1]

I'm not sure what Christie did.
Some articles are saying commutation others pardon.

There is one hell of a difference

AFS

I've read commutation and partial pardon. It'd seem like a full pardon is an overturning of a conviction which makes it appear that a commutation is a partial pardon, however, IANAL.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

That linked story says "Additionally, a full pardon remains under review."

Commutation for sentence and pardon for crime are not the same as the opening question. That does not answer: "If a law is ruled Unconstitutional & a person was convicted under it is their conviction overturned?"

The Loving couple, white man, black woman, married in Maryland and moved back to Virginia, where mixed race marriages were illegal under the 1924 Racial Integrity Act. They were arrested, convicted and jailed. On release they went back to Maryland, but felt it was unfair that they could not visit family in Virginia. The US Supreme Court heard their challenge to the constitutionality of the 1924 Act. Wikipedia states: "The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Lovings' convictions in a unanimous decision dated June 12, 1967" and also ruled the law unconstitutional.

Given that some prosecutors cling to hard-earned convictions even when new DNA tests not only show "guilt not proven" but also prove innocence under Constitutional criminal law, the mere fact that SCOTUS may rule a gun law unConstitutional does not necessarily mean that those convicted under the law when it was Constitutional will automatically have their convictions formally overturned. We are talking guns here: antigunners want unadjudicated No-Fly and Terror Watch lists, with no due-process appeal if wrong listed. added to the NICS Prohibited Person database, which we were assured would be persons adjudicated as a danger to self or others, with an avenue of appeal for those wrongly included.

 

[stonecutter2]

1.) If a law is ruled Unconstitutional & a person was convicted under it is their conviction overturned?
Yes. If a law wasn't constitutional the person convicted under that law should never have been prosecuted for it. Other convictions for other laws they broke may still remain, however, and the sentences for those would still apply. That is my understanding, but I'm not a lawyer.

2.) And would a full pardon overturn his conviction?
A full pardon removes a conviction from someone's record as if it never happened. Commuting a sentence removes or reduces the penalty provided during conviction, and the conviction would remain on their record.