United States, et al. v. Thomas Lamar Bean (537 U.S. 71)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided December 10, 2002 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 537 U.S. 71 · 123 S. Ct. 584
- Decided
- December 10, 2002
- Term
- October Term 2002
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Thomas
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court. We consider in this case whether, despite appropriation provisions barring the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) from acting on applications for relief from firearms disabilities of persons convicted of a felony, a federal district court has authority under 18 U. S. C. § 925(c) to grant such relief. I After attending a gun show in Laredo, Texas, respondent, Thomas Lamar Bean, a gun dealer, and his associates drove respondent’s vehicle to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, for dinner. Bean v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, 253 F. 3d 234, 236 (CA5 2001). When Mexican officials stopped the vehicle at the border, they found in the back, in plain view, approximately 200 rounds of ammunition. Ibid. According to respondent, he had instructed his associates to remove any firearms and ammunition from his vehicle, but inexplicably one box remained. Ibid. Respondent was convicted in a Mexican court of importing ammunition into Mexico and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. Because of his felony conviction, respondent was prohibited by 18 U. S. C. § 922(g)(1) from possessing, distributing, or receiving firearms or ammunition. Relying on § 925(c), respondent applied to ATF for relief from his firearms disabilities. ATF returned the application unprocessed, explaining that its annual appropriations law forbade it from…
Excerpt of a 12,054-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.