Top Federal Trial Lawyer Michael Leonard on recent developments in federal felon in possession of a firearm law. Recently, in the case of Atkinson v. Garland, which can be found at 70 F.4th, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals remanded that case back to the District Court to more fully analyze whether – in light of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen, 597 U.S. __, 142 S.Ct. 2111 (2022) – the federal felon in possession of a firearm statute is Constitutional. This means that the District Court (in the Northern District of Illinois – Chicago) in the Atkiinson case, after the submission of briefs by the parties, will undertake its own extensive historical analysis to determine if the felon in possession statute is Constitutional. Of course, whatever decision that District Court makes, it is expected that an appeal to the Seventh Circuit will once again follow. In any event, this is a potentially promising development for defendants who are currently facing such charges in federal court, in Chicago and elsewhere. It will also be interesting to track whether the United States Attorneys’ Office for the Northern District of Illinois will lessen its focus on charging individuals with that particular offense, in light of the puncertainty created by the Seventh Circuit’s remand In the Atkinson case.
Written by Michael Leonard
Leonard Trial Lawyers
August 11, 2023