No. 25-7216October Term 2025Petition Pending
Samuel Storey, Petitioner v. United States
Samuel Storey asks the Supreme Court to review his federal firearms conviction and enhanced sentence.
Case status
- Current stage
- Petition Pending
- Latest event
- Petition pending
- Decision timing
- No decision timeline until the Court agrees to hear the case.
- What it's about
Samuel Storey asks the Supreme Court to review his federal firearms conviction and enhanced sentence. He argues that the Eleventh Circuit should not have found a jury-trial error harmless after the government waived that argument and sought resentencing, that the Court should reconsider its harmless-error rule in Neder, and that the federal felon-in-possession law exceeds Congress’s Commerce Clause power as applied to purely intrastate possession.
Question presented
1. Can a court of appeals disregard the government’s deliberate waiver of whether a jury trial right violation is harmless in the enhanced statutory penalty context and affirm over the government’s request that the defendant be resentenced without statutory enhancement? 2. Should the Court overrule Neder v. United States, 527 U.S. 1 (1999), as inconsistent with Fifth and Sixth Amendment principles underlying this Court’s precedent in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000), and its progeny? 3. Does 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) exceed Congress’s authority under the Commerce Clause, facially and as applied to Petitioner Samuel Storey’s intrastate possession?
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit / Petition pending
- Area
Gun Rights
Briefing
What it's about
Samuel Storey asks the Supreme Court to review an Eleventh Circuit case involving a claimed jury-trial-right violation and an increased statutory penalty. He also challenges whether 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) fits within Congress's power to regulate commerce, including for intrastate possession.
Argument
The petition is pending, and oral argument has not been scheduled. Storey argues that the appeals court should not have affirmed after the government waived a harmless-error argument and sought resentencing without the statutory enhancement.
Impact
The case could affect defendants whose penalties are increased after a claimed jury-trial-right violation. It could also affect people prosecuted under § 922(g)(1) based on possession occurring within one state.
What is at stake in Storey v. United States?
Storey challenges an increased statutory penalty tied to a claimed jury-trial-right violation. He also challenges the federal statute used in his case under the Commerce Clause.
Who could be affected by Storey's case?
Defendants facing increased statutory penalties after claimed jury-trial-right violations could be affected. So could people prosecuted under § 922(g)(1) for possession within one state.
When will the Supreme Court hear Storey?
No oral argument has been scheduled. The Court could first decide whether to grant certiorari, meaning it will hear the case.
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary materials plus reporting.
- Note
- Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Sep 3, 2026
- Method
- Methodology