Powell v. Tompkins, No. 13-1310 (1st Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CasePetitioner was convicted on several state charges, including unlawful possession of a firearm. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) affirmed. The SJC rejected Petitioner’s due process challenge to the Commonwealth’s failure to present evidence that he lacked a firearms license, concluding that the accused of unlawful possession of a firearm has the burden of producing evidence of a license as an affirmative defense. Petitioner sought federal habeas relief, which the district court denied. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the SJC’s conclusion that this state criminal procedure comports with federal due process does not conflict with clearly established Supreme Court precedent; (2) Petitioner’s Second Amendment and related Equal Protection claims provide no basis for disturbing Petitioner’s state firearms convictions; and (3) Petitioner’s Sixth Amendment ineffective assistance of counsel claim is waived.
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