New Ninth Circuit Body Armor Case Worth Read

Many people are not aware that Congress made possession of body armor a crime for "violent felons" to possess. (See 18 U.S.C. sec. 931). It is regulated under the "Commerce Clause" of the United States Constitution. Here is a snippet from the Ninth Circuit Blog

Issue(s): “This case of first impression in the Ninth Circuit requires us to consider whether Congress has the authority under the Commerce Clause of the . . . Constitution . . . to criminalize the possession by a felon of body armor that has been sold or offered for sale in interstate commerce . . . . Put another way, the issue is whether the sale of body armor in interstate commerce creates a sufficient nexus between possession of the body armor and commerce to allow for federal regulation under Congress’s Commerce Clause authority.” Id. (internal quotations and citations omitted).

Held: “We conclude that we are bound by [pre-Lopez trilogy] precedent – absent the Supreme Court or our en banc court telling us otherwise – and that the felon-in-possession of body armor statute passes muster.” Id. at *1.

Opinion available here