Miller v. Commonwealth

492 S.E.2d 482, 25 Va. App. 727 (1997)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
M
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Miller v. Commonwealth

Court of Appeals of Virginia
492 S.E.2d 482, 25 Va. App. 727 (1997)

CS

Facts

Martin Miller (defendant) was a convicted felon. Miller was a lifelong hunter and wanted to continue to hunt, but knew that it was illegal for him to own firearms after his felony conviction. Miller sold his hunting guns and began hunting with a bow and arrows. After his bow was stolen, Miller sought to determine whether he could legally own a muzzle-loading rifle. Miller knew that muzzle-loading rifles were treated differently under Virginia gun law and hunting regulations from other firearms. Miller asked his probation officer if he could legally own a muzzle-loading rifle, and also inquired with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (department). All of the government officials affirmatively assured Miller that he could legally own a muzzle-loading rifle, and Miller purchased one. Miller was then charged and convicted of knowingly and intentionally possessing a firearm following a felony conviction. Miller appealed, alleging that the conviction violated his right to due process of law.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Annunziata, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 811,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Criminal Law

Key Terms