USA v. WILLIAM SMITH

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
HARRISON DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 	PLAINTIFF
V. 	CASE NO. 3:26-CR-30003
WILLIAM SMITH 	DEFENDANT
ORDER
Currently before the Court are Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Indictment and Brief
in Support (Doc. 15) and the Government’s Response in Opposition (Doc. 16). Defendant
moves for dismissal of the indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a
firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). He contends that § 922(g)(1) is unconstitutional in
violation of the Second Amendment and counter to the Supreme Court’s analysis in New
York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022). Defendant acknowledges up
front that several Eighth Circuit panels have squarely rejected this argument, e.g., United
States v. Jackson, 110 F.4th 1120 (8th Cir. 2024), cert. denied, 145 S. Ct. 2708 (2025),
but explains that he makes this motion to preserve his argument for possible review by
the Supreme Court.
This Court, of course, is bound by Eighth Circuit precedent. Hood v. United States,
342 F.3d 861, 864 (8th Cir. 2003). Following United States v. Rahimi, 602 U.S. 680 (2024),
the Eighth Circuit held in Jackson that § 922(g)(1)’s prohibition on firearm possession by
felons was constitutional. 110 F.4th at 1125 (“[W]e conclude that there is no need for
felony-by-felony litigation regarding the constitutionality of § 922(g)(1).”). The Eighth
Circuit explained that “Congress acted within the historical tradition when it enacted
§ 922(g)(1) and the prohibition on possession of firearms by felons,” and Bruen and
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Rahimi “cast no doubt on the constitutionality” of this prohibition. Id. at 1129 (citations
omitted). Accordingly, Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Indictment (Doc. 15) is DENIED.
IT IS SO ORDERED on this 5 th day of May, 2026.
TIMOTHY L. BROOKS
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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