Opinion
1:23-cr-50-LG-RPM-1
11-28-2023
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ALBERT LEE GWINN, JR.
ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS
LOUIS GUIROLA, JR. UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
BEFORE THE COURT is the [26] Motion to Dismiss filed by Defendant, Albert Lee Gwinn, Jr. This Defendant is charged by indictment for knowingly possessing a firearm while a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and § 924(a)(2). Defendant's [26] Motion to Dismiss the Indictment argues that, by applying the recent Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Assoc., Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U.S. --- (2022), these statutes are unconstitutional. A hearing on the Motion was held on November 28, 2023. After due consideration of the arguments of counsel, the record, and the applicable law, the Court finds that the Motion should be denied.
Defendant's Motion rests on the alleged unconstitutionality of section 922(g)(1), which prohibits the possession of a firearm by a person “who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.” 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). However, the conduct regulated by the statute- possession of a firearm by a felon-has been extensively litigated in the federal courts following the release of the Supreme Court's decision in Bruen. As this Court noted in United States v. Schnur, --- F.Supp.3d ---, 2023 WL 4881383 (S.D.Miss. July 31, 2023), there is a virtual unanimity in the district courts of the Fifth Circuit upholding section 922(g)(1) in Bruen's wake. In that decision, this Court joined the majority opinion of district courts and found that section 922(g)(1) survives Bruen's textual and historical scrutiny. Id. As noted by the Court at the hearing on this matter, there has been no relevant change in the law since Schnur was decided; as such, Defendant has offered no good legal justification to depart from the considerable precedent cited by the Court. Hence, the Court hereby adopts by reference its opinion in Schnur and denies the pending [26] Motion to Dismiss for the reasons stated therein.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the [26] Motion to Dismiss filed by Defendant, Albert Lee Gwinn, Jr., is DENIED.
SO ORDERED AND ADJUDGED.