US v. Jacobs: Jacobs allegedly (that’s important!) fired a gun during a domestic dispute. Police responding to the report recovered a pistol and a rifle. Jacobs admitted to possessing the firearms and that he was felon who knew he could not possess him. He was ultimately charged both with being a felon in possession of a firearm, under §922(g)(1), and possession of a firearm after having been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, under §922(g)(9). Jacobs successfully argued that both were unconstitutional under the Second Amendment as applied to Jacobs.
On an appeal by the Government, the Fourth Circuit reversed the district court’s decision and remanded for additional proceedings. As to the §922(g)(1) count, all agreed that, by the time of appeal, both facial and as-applied challenges were not available. As to the §922(g)(9) count, while facial challenges are no longer available, the Court has yet to address whether as-applied challenges are. The Court refused to apply the §922(g)(1) precedent on as-applied challenges to §922(g)(9), leaving open the possibility of a successful challenge. However, the Court noted the numerous factual issues that needed to be resolved and that the district court’s initial decision lacked the benefit of the Fourth Circuit’s post-Bruen cases. Therefore, the Fourth Circuit remanded for further proceedings on that count.
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