U.S. v. Wilson, 02-2265.
Decision Date | 10 January 2003 |
Docket Number | No. 02-2265.,02-2265. |
Citation | 315 F.3d 972 |
Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Martin G. WILSON, Jr., Defendant-Appellant. |
Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
Caterina DiTraglia, argued, St Louis, MO, for appellant.
Cristian M. Stevens, Asst. U.S. Atty., argued, St Louis, MO, for appellee.
Before McMILLIAN and SMITH, Circuit Judges, and LONGSTAFF,1 District Judge.
Martin G. Wilson, Jr. ("Wilson") appeals the decision of the District Court2 to deny his motion to dismiss. In the motion, Wilson argues that Title 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), the statute under which he was indicted, violates the Second Amendment to the Constitution. We affirm.
On January 24, 2001, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms ("ATF") executed a federal search warrant at Wilson's home. An investigation by local law enforcement into Wilson's failure to register as a sex offender precipitated the search. During the search, ATF agents discovered and seized approximately seventeen firearms and some ammunition. Wilson, a convicted felon, admitted that he jointly possessed the firearms with his wife.
On September 6, 2001, a grand jury indicted Wilson as a felon who was in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). The indictment recited Wilson's 1990 conviction for a sexual offense against a minor and listed the details of the seventeen firearms in his possession. In response, Wilson moved to dismiss the indictment, arguing that the statute violated the Second Amendment. The District Court denied the motion. On January 28, 2002, Wilson pled guilty to the one-count indictment, reserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to dismiss. Wilson now appeals the motion's denial.
Wilson argues (1) that the Second Amendment provides an individual right to bear arms and (2) that because of this right, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) is unconstitutional.3 However, as Wilson acknowledges, this Circuit's established precedent upholds the constitutionality of § 922(g)(1). See, e.g., United States v. Waller, 218 F.3d 856, 857 (8th Cir.2000) (per curiam) ( ); Cody v. United States, 460 F.2d 34, 37 (8th Cir.1972).
Wilson does not seek to distinguish our precedents, but instead argues that this Panel should overrule them. Wilson requested an initial hearing of this case before the Court en banc, acknowledging the controlling law against him and this Court's precedent that prohibits any three-judge panel of the Court from overruling a previous panel opinion. See, e.g., United States v. Riza, 267 F.3d 757, 760 (8th Cir.2001). The Court denied Wilson's en banc request on September 3, 2002. Wilson admittedly seeks reversal of clearly established precedent. We decline to do so and affirm the District Court's decision to deny his motion to dismiss.
1. The Honorable Ronald E. Longstaff, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, sitting by designation.
2. The Honorable E. Richard Webber, United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri.
3. Wilson relies heavily upon United States v. Emerson, 270 F.3d 203, 259 (5th Cir.2001) (...
To continue reading
Request your trial-
U.S. v. Honken
...Court's precedent ... prohibits any three-judge panel of the Court from overruling a previous panel opinion." United States v. Wilson, 315 F.3d 972, 973-74 (8th Cir.2003). 21. Subsection (n)(1) describes different categories of a defendant's criminal intent and refers to intent factors as "......
-
U.S. v. Lippman
...the right to bear arms when it is reasonably related to the maintenance of a well regulated militia. See, e.g., United States v. Wilson, 315 F.3d 972, 973-74 (8th Cir.2003); United States v. Lewis, 236 F.3d 948, 950 (8th Cir.2001); United States v. Smith, 171 F.3d 617, 624 (8th Cir.1999); U......
-
U.S. v. Howell
...commerce clause. See United States v. May, 535 F.3d 912, 921-22 (8th Cir. 2008). Thus, we adhere to that holding. See United States v. Wilson, 315 F.3d 972, 973-74 (2003) ("this Court's precedent ... prohibits any three-judge panel of the Court from overruling a previous panel C. Constituti......
-
U.S. v. Leathers
...Cir.2002), and this panel, as distinguished from the court en banc, is not at liberty to revisit this issue. See United States v. Wilson, 315 F.3d 972, 973-74 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 539 U.S. 968, 123 S.Ct. 2661, 156 L.Ed.2d 672 (2003). In accordance with our prior decisions, inasmuch as ......