Because of this relationship between gun ownership and intimate violence, federal law bars those convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense from possessing a gun. But state crimes dubbed “domestic violence” come with different definitions in different states. And James Alvin Castleman seized on these differences to convince a federal court that he was not guilty of illegal gun possession because his guilty plea for a Tennessee domestic violence offense did not qualify under federal law. The Supreme Court disagreed with Castleman, holding that the crime of “intentionally or knowingly” causing bodily injury to the mother of his child was a crime that involved “physical force,” and that Castleman was therefore barred from possessing a gun.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 21:11:28 +0000
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