From Monday's U.S. v. Daniels decision, written by Fifth Circuit Judge Jerry Smith, joined by Judge Don Willett:
Title 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) bars an individual from possessing a firearm if he is an "unlawful user" of a controlled substance. A jury found that Patrick Daniels, Jr., was such an unlawful user, and a judge sentenced him to nearly four years in prison. But the jury did not necessarily find that Daniels was intoxicated at the time of his arrest, nor did it identify the last time Daniels used an unlawful substance. So we reversed the conviction and held that § 922(g)(3), as applied to him, was inconsistent with the Second Amendment. The Supreme Court granted certiorari, vacated, and remanded for reconsideration in light of United States v. Rahimi (2024).
After Rahimi, this circuit heard a similar challenge to a prosecution brought under § 922(g)(3). In that case, United States v. Connelly, we held that the government could not constitutionally apply § 922(g)(3) to a defendant based solely on her "habitual or occasional drug use." That case controls this one. Because the jury did not necessarily find that Daniels was presently or even recently engaged in unlawful drug use, we reverse his conviction again and remand.
For more on Connelly, see this post. Monday's decision adds:
