We have been talking a lot about Aldon Smith’s pending legal troubles on the 49ers Now podcast lately, so I reached out to a criminal defense attorney friend of mine at Wallin & Klarich for some experienced legal perspective on Aldon’s situation and what exactly he is facing: ————————- What exactly did Aldon Smith do to be charged with 3 felonies? Linebacker Aldon Smith was charged in Santa Clara Superior Court with three felony counts of illegally possessing assault rifles along with misdemeanor drunk driving. Smith purchased three semi-automatic rifles over the counter in Arizona. In order to comply with California law, Smith would have needed to modify and register the guns. He allegedly fired one of the rifles off into the air as a warning shot during a party in 2012. Prosecutors in Smith’s case described his guns as an Armalite AR10-T .308-caliber rifle, a Bushmaster ACR chambered in 5.56mm NATO and a Bushmaster Carbon 15 .223-caliber rifle. While these rifles are not prohibited in California per-se, it is the particular features of the weapons that can be problematic. Understanding California Assault Weapons Laws Under California’s assault-weapons ban enacted in 1989, certain models of semi-automatic rifles and pistols are prohibited as well as others with certain characteristics. For example, semi-automatic rifles such as the popular AR-15 cannot have detachable magazines or magazines that can be released with the push of a button. Smith’s rifles did have an automatic magazine release. California law also prohibits magazines with a capacity for more than 10 rounds. Smith’s rifles reportedly had 30-round magazines. What possible sentence is Aldon smith facing if convicted? If convicted, Smith could face a sentence ranging from no time in custody to more than four years behind bars. Because he fired a shot from one of the weapons, Smith’s...