Supreme Court Rules Against Rahimi, Sustains Validity of Court Orders Denying Access to Firearms by Domestic Abusers

https://asecondamendmentfor21stcenturyamerica.org/s/SCOTUS-Rahimi-Decision-June-21-2024-93t3.pdf

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United States v  Rahimi

PETITIONER

United States

RESPONDENT

Zackey Rahimi

DOCKET NO.

22-915

DECIDED BY

Case pending

LOWER COURT

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

CITATION

Citation pending

GRANTED

Jun 30, 2023

ARGUED

Nov 7, 2023

ADVOCATES

Elizabeth B. Prelogarfor the Petitioner

J. Matthew Wrightfor the Respondent

Facts of the case

Between December 2020 and January 2021, Zackey Rahimi was involved in a series of violent incidents in Arlington, Texas, including multiple shootings and a hit-and-run. Rahimi was under a civil protective order for alleged assault against his ex-girlfriend, which explicitly prohibited him from possessing firearms. Police searched his home and found a rifle and a pistol, leading to Rahimi’s indictment for violating federal law 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), which makes it unlawful for someone under a domestic violence restraining order to possess firearms. Rahimi moved to dismiss the indictment on constitutional grounds but was denied, as his argument was foreclosed by United States v. McGinnis, 956 F.3d 747 (5th Cir. 2020).

Rahimi pleaded guilty but continued his constitutional challenge on appeal. As the appeal was pending, the U.S. Supreme Court decided New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, 579 U.S. __ (2022). Rahimi argued that Bruen overruled McGinnis and thus that § 922(g)(8) was unconstitutional, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit agreed.

Question

Does 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), which prohibits the possession of firearms by persons subject to domestic-violence restraining orders, violate the Second Amendment?

https://www.oyez.org/cases/2023/22-915

Supreme Court Documents: https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/22-915.html