Henderson v. United States (575 U.S. 622)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 18, 2015 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 575 U.S. 622 · 135 S. Ct. 1780
- Decided
- May 18, 2015
- Term
- October Term 2014
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Kagan
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice KAGANdelivered the opinion of the Court. Government agencies sometimes come into possession of firearms lawfully owned by individuals facing serious criminal charges. If convicted, such a person cannot recover his guns because a federal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), prohibits any felon from possessing firearms. In this case, we consider what § 922(g)allows a court to do when a felon instead seeks the transfer of his guns to either a firearms dealer (for future sale on the open market) or some other third party. We hold that § 922(g)does not bar such a transfer unless it would allow the felon to later control the guns, so that he could either use them or direct their use. I The Federal Government charged petitioner Tony Henderson, then a U.S. Border Patrol agent, with the felony offense of distributing marijuana. See 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(D). A Magistrate Judge required that Henderson surrender all his firearms as a condition of his release on bail. Henderson complied, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) took custody of the guns. Soon afterward, Henderson pleaded guilty to the distribution charge; as a result of that conviction, § 922(g)prevents him from legally repossessing his firearms. Following his release from prison, Henderson asked the FBI to transfer the guns to Robert Rosier, a friend who had agreed to purchase them for an unspecified price.…
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