Nicolas Oneal Garrett, Petitioner v. United States

Nicolas Oneal Garrett is asking the Supreme Court to review an Eighth Circuit decision that treated the federal felon-in-possession gun law, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), as constitutional in every case. The question is whether that law can ever be challenged based on a person's specific circumstances, or whether it is always valid on its face and as applied.

The Court has not scheduled oral argument, and no merits decision is available. Garrett's petition asks the justices to review the Eighth Circuit's view that § 922(g)(1) is always constitutional, including in case-specific challenges.

The case could affect how people with felony convictions challenge a federal ban on possessing guns. For example, it matters to defendants who argue the law should not apply to them because of their own history or circumstances.

The case asks whether the federal felon-in-possession gun law is always constitutional. It also asks whether a defendant may challenge that law based on personal circumstances.

People with felony convictions who face federal gun charges could be affected. So could lower courts deciding whether case-specific constitutional challenges are allowed.

The Supreme Court must decide whether to take the case. If it does, the next major step would be briefing and later oral argument.