Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Jesse Ray McCuin was convicted in the Southern District of Mississippi of possessing a firearm as a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
On appeal, McCuin argued that § 922(g)(1) violates the Second Amendment both facially and as applied to him under New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen. He also argued that the statute exceeds Congress’s Commerce Clause authority and that his firearm possession lacked a sufficient nexus to interstate commerce. Because he preserved these constitutional challenges, the Fifth Circuit reviewed them de novo.
The Court’s Holding
In an unpublished per curiam opinion, the Fifth Circuit affirmed McCuin’s conviction. The court concluded that all of his arguments were foreclosed by binding circuit precedent, as McCuin himself acknowledged.
The court relied on United States v. Schnur and United States v. Diaz as foreclosing McCuin’s Second Amendment challenges, and on United States v. Alcantar as foreclosing his Commerce Clause and federal-nexus arguments. The court therefore rejected each challenge without conducting a new historical-tradition or commerce analysis.
Key Takeaways
- Binding Fifth Circuit precedent foreclosed both the facial and as-applied Second Amendment challenges to § 922(g)(1).
- Existing circuit precedent also foreclosed the argument that § 922(g)(1) exceeds Congress’s Commerce Clause authority or requires a stronger connection between firearm possession and interstate commerce.
- Because McCuin preserved his constitutional arguments, the court reviewed them de novo but nevertheless affirmed his conviction.
Why It Matters
The decision confirms that Fifth Circuit panels remain bound by circuit precedent rejecting Second Amendment and Commerce Clause attacks on the federal felon-in-possession statute. Defendants may preserve those arguments for further review, but a panel cannot grant relief while that precedent remains controlling.