Background
Latoya Calhoun was convicted of possessing a firearm after a felony conviction, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). She appealed from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
For the first time on appeal, Calhoun argued that § 922(g)(1) violated the Second Amendment as applied to her. The government moved for summary affirmance or, alternatively, additional time to file a brief.
The Court’s Holding
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment. Because Calhoun had not raised her as-applied Second Amendment challenge below, the panel reviewed it for plain error.
The court held that Calhoun failed to establish plain error because, at a minimum, she had not shown that any error was clear or obvious. The panel declined to grant summary affirmance but determined that further briefing was unnecessary, denying both the government’s summary-affirmance motion and its alternative request for additional time.
Key Takeaways
- An as-applied Second Amendment challenge to 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) raised for the first time on appeal is reviewed for plain error.
- Calhoun could not obtain relief because she failed to show a clear or obvious error.
- The court affirmed without further briefing while denying the government’s request for summary affirmance.
Why It Matters
The decision illustrates the difficulty of prevailing on an unpreserved constitutional challenge under plain-error review. The panel did not resolve whether § 922(g)(1) was unconstitutional as applied to Calhoun; it affirmed on the narrower ground that she had not demonstrated a clear or obvious error.