Summary
The Third Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal of indictments against two defendants charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Applying the Supreme Court's Bruen framework, the court held that the statute is constitutional as applied to individuals who have not yet completed their criminal sentences, including those on state parole or probation. Relying on historical traditions of disarming convicts during their sentences, the court concluded that such defendants lack a Second Amendment right to possess firearms.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) is constitutional as applied to felons who possess firearms while serving terms of state parole or probation.
- Whether the district court erred by dismissing the indictments on Second Amendment grounds.
Holdings
- Felons who are still serving criminal sentences on state parole or probation do not have a Second Amendment right to possess firearms.
- Section 922(g)(1) is constitutional as applied to Quailes and Harper because both were serving criminal sentences under state supervision when they possessed firearms.
Key quotations
“Because neither Quailes nor Harper had completed service of their criminal sentence, neither had “a Second Amendment right to possess a firearm.””
“Because parolees and probationers— like convicts on federal supervised release—are still serving their sentences, the Second Amendment affords them no protection.”
“We thus join our sister circuits in holding that § 922(g)(1) is constitutional as applied to convicts on parole or probation.”
Factual background
Harper was serving Pennsylvania state probation and parole when authorities discovered photographs of him holding firearms and found a semiautomatic pistol in a backpack during a home visit. Quailes was on Pennsylvania parole when arrested for absconding from parole, and authorities found two semiautomatic handguns and ammunition in his girlfriend's apartment after obtaining consent to search. Both defendants had multiple prior felony convictions and were charged under § 922(g)(1).
Procedural history
Quailes and Harper were separately indicted in 2021 for possessing firearms as felons. Each moved to dismiss under New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen and Range I. The district court granted both motions, concluding that § 922(g)(1) was unconstitutional as applied. The Government appealed, and the Third Circuit consolidated the appeals, reversed, and remanded.
Remand instructions
The cases were remanded for further proceedings consistent with the opinion after reversal of the orders dismissing the indictments.