Getting a Seized Firearm Back After Mississippi Charges Are Dismissed
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Reviewed & verified by A. Jason Velez, Esq.*
Managing Attorney, 1LAW · Last reviewed January 1, 2026
Legal Inquiry
Consumer Legal Issue
On my way to work when I was pulled over for so called running a stop sign, and as well as so called speed in a 35 mph zone with no speed sign till all the way to the end on a mile, and half road. The officer wasn't no where to be seen untill a quarter mile of me leaving the stop sign he was speed to catch up to me, but didnt turn on light untill the full mile an a hlaf later. Long story short I was arrested for marijuana possession no more then two garm and the also took my fire arm that, s also clean an in my name. They dismissed charges, but will not gave back my fire arm trying what can I do to get it back.
Attorney Answer
Mississippi law is squarely on your side here: once the charge was dismissed, the statute says the weapon goes back to you.
Miss. Code Ann. § 97-37-3 addresses forfeiture of a seized weapon and its return upon dismissal or acquittal. Its terms are direct — "in the event of dismissal or acquittal of charges, such weapon shall be returned to the accused from whom it was seized." You have described exactly that: charges dismissed, a firearm lawfully in your name, no conviction. That statute, rather than a negotiation with an officer, is what you should be pointing to.
What usually goes wrong here is not the law but the process. Property divisions do not release firearms on a phone call, and "the case was dropped" means nothing to a records clerk without a document. The agency needs a court order or a certified disposition in its hands.
One word about the stop itself. Because the charges were dismissed, there is nothing left to suppress — arguments about when the officer activated his lights no longer have a criminal case to live in. If you want to pursue the stop, or the continued retention of your property, as a civil matter, that is a separate track with its own deadlines, and it needs to be raised with a lawyer promptly rather than after the property issue is finished.
What you can do
1. Get a certified copy of the dismissal order from the clerk of the court where the charge was pending. Get two. 2. Send a written demand to the seizing agency's property or evidence division, attaching the certified dismissal and describing the firearm by make, model and serial number, with proof of ownership. Keep a copy and note the date. This alone resolves many of these. 3. If that does not produce the firearm within a reasonable time, file a written motion for return of seized property in the court where the charge was pending, citing Miss. Code Ann. § 97-37-3, attaching the dismissal order and your ownership proof, and send a copy to the agency. 4. Ask the clerk to set the motion for hearing, and appear. 5. If the agency claims a separate forfeiture proceeding, a federal hold, or that the firearm was destroyed, demand the paperwork in writing. A separate proceeding carries its own response deadlines and you cannot afford to let one pass unanswered. 6. Keep a written log of every call: date, time, name, and what you were told.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does it matter that the arrest was for marijuana possession?
Miss. Code Ann. § 97-37-3 keys return to dismissal or acquittal of the charges, and you say the charges were dismissed. What complicates matters is a separate legal basis for holding the weapon, so if the agency asserts one, get it in writing and take that paperwork to a lawyer.
How long can they keep it?
The statute directs return upon dismissal, so continued retention afterwards is what your motion challenges. Practically, agencies often hold property until a court order arrives, which is why the certified dismissal and, if needed, a motion in the original court are the fastest route.
Do I need a lawyer for this?
A written demand with a certified dismissal often works on its own. If it does not, a motion for return of property under § 97-37-3 is straightforward but must be filed and served correctly — and a lawyer becomes worth it if the agency claims a separate forfeiture or cannot locate the firearm.
