United States v. Armstrong, No. 12-1216 (1st Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseDefendant was arrested and charged with one count of possessing firearms and ammunition after having been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9). As a predicate offense to the charge, the indictment listed a 2008 misdemeanor conviction for Defendant's assault of his wife. After the district court denied Defendant's pre-trial motion to dismiss the indictment, Defendant entered a guilty plea conditioned on his right to appeal the denial of the motion to dismiss. Defendant appealed, asking the First Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider arguments regarding (1) whether section 922(g)(9) should be construed to exclude a purportedly non-violent offensive physical contact misdemeanor conviction as a predicate offense, and (2) whether applying section 922(g)(9) to such a prior conviction would violate Defendant's Second Amendment rights. The First Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of Defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment, holding that First Circuit precedent in United States v. Booker and United States v. Nason foreclosed the arguments made here.
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