Associate Attorney Ashley Bargenquast won her first jury trial in Shasta County. At Tully & Weiss Attorneys at Law, when an attorney wins their first jury trial, they “earn their gun.” We want to reward a great job, as well as encourage our attorneys to practice and celebrate the rights they defend. The Second Amendment, the legalities and technicalities of firearms, and firearm safety are intricately connected to our practice of law. The Tully & Weiss tradition exposes our attorneys to the nuts and bolts of firearm ownership, safety, and proper operation. This gives our attorneys a leg up in cases involving guns and ammunition, and ultimately allows us to provide better representation to our clients accused of gun crimes.

ASHLEY'S JURY TRIAL VICTORY

Ashley's first jury trial win was the now legendary Benno case in Shasta county. A medical cannabis activist father and his two sons were all facing 17 counts, including several very serious felonies. The case was related to cannabis cultivation, manufacture, firearms, conspiracy, and resisting arrest after a raid at their property which included a very public and substantial medical grow. The then three existing Tully & Weiss attorneys, Joseph Tully, Randall Schram, and Ashley Bargenquast represented the Bennos pro bono and ended up prevailing on all charges. Notably, the last charge remaining, after initially hanging in jury trial, was felony manufacture of concentrated cannabis.

Ashley Bargenquast had been arguing that the district attorney mischarged the behavior of making medicinal cannabis concentrate (in a crockpot using Everclear alcohol) as more like manufacturing methamphetamine or LSD. Rather than what they were actually doing, which is making cannabis butter. On an issue of first impression in California courts, Ashley was able to show that the regulations, then newly released by the Bureau of Cannabis Control, supported her argument, and the court dismissed the final charge.

CHOOSING HER GUN

Ashley did a lot of research about the gun she wanted. She went to the range several times with friends and tried out various guns. After some practice, she had an incredible experience with an old school Smith & Wesson .38 6 inch barrel revolver and fell in love.

To narrow down her search, she started by reviewing guns listed on the DOJ Roster of Certified Handguns, that way she knew it would be a legal California handgun. Based on that list, there were very few Smith & Wesson 6 inch barrels, and the only guns that chamber .38 are also .357 magnums. She knew that she wanted to stick with a Smith & Wesson 6 inch, and chose the Smith & Wesson 686 Plus because who doesn't want to be able to chamber an extra round?

Well done and well deserved, Ashley! It was a big case, and you saved an innocent family from prison for growing a legal crop.

Enjoy this video of Ashley Bargenquast sharing her experience of selecting, purchasing, and firing her new handgun.