United States v. Castleman

United States v. Castleman
Argued January 15, 2014
Decided March 26, 2014
Full case nameUnited States v. James Alvin Castleman
Docket no.12-1371
Citations572 U.S. 157 (more)
134 S.Ct. 1405, 188 L. Ed. 2d 426
Case history
Prior695 F. 3d 582 (CA6 2012)
Holding
The "physical force" requirement under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), which criminalizes possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a 'misdemeanor crime of domestic violence,' is satisfied by the “offensive touching” degree of force that supports a common-law battery conviction and does not require the greater showing of violent contact.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito
Sonia Sotomayor · Elena Kagan
Case opinions
MajoritySotomayor, joined by Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan
ConcurrenceScalia (in part and in judgment)
ConcurrenceAlito (in judgment), joined by Thomas
Laws applied
Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban

United States v. Castleman, 572 U.S. 157 (2014), was a United States Supreme Court case decided in 2014. The Court held that under 18 U. S. C. §922(g)(9), a federal statute which prohibits possession of firearms by someone convicted of a "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence", a conviction does not have to involve the use of violent force to qualify for this prohibition. Instead, the Court concluded that a crime qualifies as a "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" so long as the amount of force used to commit the crime was sufficient to support a conviction for common-law battery.[1]

References

  1. ^ Bernat, Frances P.; Frailing, Kelly, eds. (August 23, 2019). "United States v. Castleman". The Encyclopedia of Women and Crime (1 ed.). Wiley. doi:10.1002/9781118929803.ewac0501. ISBN 978-1-118-92979-7.