Federal Gun Ban Rulings Set New Precedent for Virgin Islands Cases Involving Prior Convictions

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled Tuesday that the federal firearm-possession ban violated the Second Amendment as applied to a Pennsylvania man with a 2005 drunken-driving conviction, while upholding another man’s gun conviction based on his earlier conviction for threatening violence. The October 13 decisions, Williams v. Attorney General and United States v. Bost, establish precedent for federal cases within the Third Circuit, which includes the District Court of the Virgin Islands. Both Pennsylvania cases were heard en banc, bringing the disputes before the broader appeals court rather than a customary three-judge panel. Both cases concerned 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), which generally prohibits firearm possession by people convicted of crimes punishable by more than one year in prison. Although commonly called the felon-in-possession law, it also covers certain state misdemeanors. The Pennsylvania convictions at issue in both cases carried maximum sentences of five...