Felon-in-possession — interstate commerce nexus

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United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Criminal

Felon-in-possession — interstate commerce nexus

The government satisfied the interstate commerce nexus in a prosecution or felon in possession of a firearm, even though it conducted a reverse sting in which it selected the weapon.

“To the extent Sarraj is suggesting that federal law enforcement officials must defer to state authorities who may wish to prosecute locally under state law, we reject the suggestion. We also reject any suggestion that section 922(g)(1) prosecutions must be confined to contexts that are uniquely and necessarily federal. In enacting section 922(g)(1), Congress chose to exercise the full extent of its power over interstate commerce, treating gun possession by convicted felons as an issue of national interest in most circumstances — an interest that is concurrent with that of the several States. See Scarborough, 431 U.S. at 572 (‘in implementing these findings by prohibiting both possessions in commerce and those affecting commerce, Congress must have meant more than to outlaw simply those possessions that occur in commerce or in interstate facilities’). Congress intended to regulate to the full extent of its commerce power, and permit federal authorities to reach every violation where a minimal nexus was established. Id. Section 922(g)(1) is facially constitutional, and a single past interstate trip sufficiently affects commerce (as our cases hold), so possessing a firearm of foreign manufacture as a felon can be both a federal and a state crime. It is up to the various state and federal agencies to work out together how to share the job of investigating and prosecuting these crimes.”

Affirmed.

10-3609 U.S. v. Sarraj

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Kendall, J., Hamilton, J.