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United States v. Hemani

Supreme Court of the United States · No. 24-1234

Decided

👍Favorable to gun rights

Supreme Court held the drug-user firearm ban unconstitutional as applied to this defendant, affirming dismissal of the indictment.

GunMapUSA assessment of the outcome's direction, not a statement that the court decided rightly or wrongly.

What the court held

The federal government prosecuted a Texas man under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3) for keeping a gun at home while using marijuana about every other day. The Supreme Court held the prosecution inconsistent with the Second Amendment, finding that the historical 'habitual drunkard' laws the government relied on - vagrancy, civil-commitment, and surety statutes - differed from the statute in why they applied, how they operated, and the process they required, since they reached only people whose intoxication left them effectively incapacitated and generally provided some hearing before any deprivation. The Court affirmed the Fifth Circuit, and its opinion did not disturb the felon and mentally-ill prohibitions in other subsections of 922(g).

Summarized from the court's opinion.

What this case is about

18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) ban on firearm possession by unlawful users of controlled substances

GunMapUSA summary of the issue, not a quotation from the court.

Key Dates

Read the full opinion The complete text of the court's decision, reproduced in full.

Sources

Summary of public court records. Not legal advice.