加勒特诉美利坚合众国案

Petitioner Jamichael Bernard Garrett, a convicted felon with prior Alabama drug offenses, pleaded guilty in August 2022 to Felon in Possession of a Firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and received a 77-month sentence. He later filed a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to vacate his conviction, arguing that, under the Supreme Court’s decision in N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen (2022), his conviction violated the Second Amendment. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama denied the motion on November 8, 2023.

Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 is DENIED. The court found the claim procedurally defaulted and, alternatively, meritless because Bruen does not apply to felons.

Whether a convicted felon’s firearm possession conviction under § 922(g)(1) violates the Second Amendment in light of Bruen, and whether Garrett’s claim was procedurally defaulted because he failed to raise it on direct appeal. The court held that Eleventh Circuit precedent in United States v. Rozier remains binding and that Bruen does not extend Second Amendment protection to non-“ordinary, law-abiding citizens” like Garrett.

The decision reinforces the circuit split regarding whether Bruen extends to felon-in-possession prosecutions, affirming that longstanding felony firearm restrictions remain constitutional. It demonstrates that post-Bruen Second Amendment challenges by felons face significant procedural and substantive hurdles, and that Eleventh Circuit precedent continues to control such claims in Alabama federal courts.