Justices Challenge Government Over Oft-Prosecuted Firearms Crime

Several justices seemed hostile to the government’s position that it doesn’t have to prove that a defendant knew their immigration status in order to be convicted of a federal firearms crime.

At issue is a law prohibiting an immigrant “illegally or unlawfully in the United States” from possessing a gun or ammunition. But the court’s decision could have implications for similar felon-in-possession convictions, which is one of the most prosecuted federal crimes out there, Justice Department lawyer Allon Kedem told the justices.

Kedem noted that every federal appellate court to have considered the issue in the context of immigration status ...