United States v. Bass
United States Supreme Court
404 U.S. 336 (1971)
- Written by Jamie Milne, JD
Facts
Title VII of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 made it a federal crime for a person who had previously been convicted of a felony to receive, possess, or transport in commerce or affecting commerce any firearm. Bass (defendant), a felon, was charged with possessing a pistol and shotgun in violation of Title VII. At trial, the government did not make any attempt to show that Bass’s possession was in commerce or affecting commerce, interpreting the statute’s “in commerce or affecting commerce” limitation to apply only to charges based on transportations, not on receipts or possessions. Bass was convicted. The court of appeals reversed, reasoning that the “in commerce or affecting commerce” qualifier must apply to receipts, possessions, and transportations because otherwise there was a substantial likelihood the statute exceeded Congress’s authority under the Commerce Clause. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Marshall, J.)
Dissent (Blackmun, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 803,000 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.
