Lenard Ray Beecham v. United States (511 U.S. 368)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 16, 1994 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 511 U.S. 368 · 114 S. Ct. 1669
- Decided
- May 16, 1994
- Term
- October Term 1993
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice O'Connor
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice O’Connor delivered the opinion of the Court. Today we construe three provisions of the federal firearms statutes: “It shall be unlawful for any person who has been convicted . . . [of] a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year ... [to possess] any firearm ....” 18 U. S. C. § 922(g). “What constitutes a conviction... shall be determined in accordance with the law of the jurisdiction in which the proceedings were held.” § 921(a)(20) (the choice-of-law clause). “Any conviction which has been expunged, or set aside or for which a person has been pardoned or has had civil rights restored shall not be considered a conviction----” Ibid, (the exemption clause). The question before us is which jurisdiction’s law is to be considered in determining whether a felon “has had civil rights restored” for a prior federal conviction. I Each of the petitioners was convicted of violating § 922(g). Beecham was convicted in Federal District Court in North Carolina, Jones in Federal District Court in West Virginia. Beecham’s relevant prior conviction was a 1979 federal conviction in Tennessee, for violating 18 U. S. C. § 922(h). App. 11. Jones’ prior convictions were two West Virginia state convictions, for breaking and entering and for forgery, and one 1971 federal conviction in Ohio for interstate transportation of a stolen automobile. Id., at 19-20. Jones had…
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