United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Maurice Mosley, Defendant-appellant, 145 F.3d 1343 (9th Cir. 1998)

MEMORANDUM¹ 

Federal prisoner Maurice Mosley appeals pro se the district court's denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion challenging his conviction for six counts of bank robbery and one count of using or carrying a firearm during a bank robbery. Mosley contends for the first time on appeal that the federal government lacked jurisdiction to convict him of bank robbery, because Congress exceeded its authority under the Commerce Clause by enacting 18 U.S.C. § 2113.

Generally, we will not consider an issue for the first time on appeal, except for certain exceptions. See Jovanovich v. United States, 813 F.2d 1035, 1037 (9th Cir. 1987). One exception is when the issue is purely one of law, which is the case here. Mosley's sole issue on appeal is his challenge to the federal bank robbery statute, and it is without merit, because " [f]ederal courts have jurisdiction over a bank robbery offense where the bank was a federally insured institution." United States v. Harris, 108 F.3d 1107, 1108-09 (9th Cir. 1996). Accordingly, the district court's denial of Mosley's 2255 motion is

AFFIRMED.