Binderup v. Attorney General

A federal law known as the felon-in-possession ban, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), prohibited the possession of firearms by any person convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison. Although the law excluded state misdemeanors punishable by less than two years in prison, some crimes classified as misdemeanors under state law were punishable by prison terms longer than two years. Daniel Binderup (plaintiff) had a consensual relationship with a 17-year-old and was convicted of the Pennsylvania misdemeanor of corrupting a minor, which was punishable by up to five years in prison. Binderup, who had no other criminal record, received a sentence of three years’ probation and no prison time. Meanwhile, Julio Suarez (plaintiff) had a misdemeanor conviction for carrying a revolver without a license, which was punishable by up to three years in prison. Suarez, who had no other relevant convictions in his criminal record, received a suspended sentence and no prison time. Binderup and Suarez challenged § 922(g)(1) in federal district court, arguing that the law violated the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. The court held that § 922(g)(1) was unconstitutional as applied and granted summary judgments in favor of Binderup and Suarez. The government (defendant) appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.