Swordsmyth
02-21-2018, 11:18 PM
In a week highlighted by the national gun control debate, the court ruled that a North Carolina man who pleaded guilty to illegal firearm possession may still appeal his conviction on constitutional grounds.
The case began on May 30, 2013, when police suspicions were aroused by a jeep illegally parked in an employees-only lot on the U.S. Capitol grounds. When owner Rodney Class returned and refused to allow a search, Capitol Police obtained a warrant and found two loaded pistols, a rifle and extra magazines of ammunition.
Questioned by the FBI at Capitol Police headquarters, Class identified himself as a "constitutional bounty hunter" and "private attorney general" who traveled the country with guns and other weapons to enforce federal law against judges whom he believed had acted illegally.
A federal grand jury indicted him on a single count of unlawfully carrying firearms on the Capitol grounds. He eventually pleaded guilty, but he later appealed the conviction, contending the law under which he was convicted is unconstitutional.
The lower courts said that by pleading guilty, he gave up his right to appeal. But on Wednesday the Supreme Court ruled that a guilty plea does not mean a citizen automatically loses his right to bring a constitutional challenge to the law under which he was prosecuted.
Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the six-justice majority, observed that while Class, in pleading guilty, did waive his right to appeal his conviction, the plea agreement did not contain an explicit waiver of his right to bring a challenge based on his claim that the ban on weapons at the Capitol violated his Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justices Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas, wrote a dissent four pages longer than the majority opinion. In those pages, he angrily accused the majority of creating a useless "muddle" that will "bedevil" the lower courts for years to come.
More at: https://www.npr.org/2018/02/21/587733571/supreme-court-gets-moving-issuing-as-many-decisions-in-one-day-as-it-has-in-5-mo
The case began on May 30, 2013, when police suspicions were aroused by a jeep illegally parked in an employees-only lot on the U.S. Capitol grounds. When owner Rodney Class returned and refused to allow a search, Capitol Police obtained a warrant and found two loaded pistols, a rifle and extra magazines of ammunition.
Questioned by the FBI at Capitol Police headquarters, Class identified himself as a "constitutional bounty hunter" and "private attorney general" who traveled the country with guns and other weapons to enforce federal law against judges whom he believed had acted illegally.
A federal grand jury indicted him on a single count of unlawfully carrying firearms on the Capitol grounds. He eventually pleaded guilty, but he later appealed the conviction, contending the law under which he was convicted is unconstitutional.
The lower courts said that by pleading guilty, he gave up his right to appeal. But on Wednesday the Supreme Court ruled that a guilty plea does not mean a citizen automatically loses his right to bring a constitutional challenge to the law under which he was prosecuted.
Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the six-justice majority, observed that while Class, in pleading guilty, did waive his right to appeal his conviction, the plea agreement did not contain an explicit waiver of his right to bring a challenge based on his claim that the ban on weapons at the Capitol violated his Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justices Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas, wrote a dissent four pages longer than the majority opinion. In those pages, he angrily accused the majority of creating a useless "muddle" that will "bedevil" the lower courts for years to come.
More at: https://www.npr.org/2018/02/21/587733571/supreme-court-gets-moving-issuing-as-many-decisions-in-one-day-as-it-has-in-5-mo