State of Missouri v. Santonio L. McCoy

Summary

The Supreme Court of Missouri held that Missouri's felon-in-possession statute, section 571.070.1(1), does not violate the Missouri Constitution's right to bear arms. The Court applied strict scrutiny under the prior version of article I, section 23 and concluded that prohibiting convicted felons from possessing firearms is narrowly tailored to the compelling interest of protecting the public from firearm-related crime. The Court affirmed McCoy's conviction and seven-year sentence.

Holdings

1. The amended version of article I, section 23 applies prospectively only because it contains no clear, explicit, and unequivocal indication of retroactive intent.
2. Strict scrutiny applies under the prior version of Missouri Constitution article I, section 23 to challenges arising after McDonald v. City of Chicago recognized the right to bear arms as fundamental and applicable to the states.
3. Section 571.070.1(1) survives strict scrutiny and does not violate the right to bear arms protected by Missouri Constitution article I, section 23.
4. McCoy’s facial overbreadth challenge fails because the overbreadth doctrine does not extend beyond the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
5. McCoy’s claim that section 571.070.1(1) violates the Second Amendment was not preserved for appellate review because he did not present it to the circuit court.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the 2013 amendment to Missouri Constitution article I, section 23 applied retroactively to McCoy’s case.
2. Whether strict scrutiny applied under the prior version of article I, section 23 to McCoy’s challenge to the felon-in-possession statute.
3. Whether section 571.070.1(1), which prohibits convicted felons from possessing firearms, survives strict scrutiny.
4. Whether McCoy’s facial overbreadth challenge was cognizable under Missouri constitutional law.
5. Whether McCoy’s unpreserved Second Amendment claim could be considered on appeal.

Disposition

affirmed