Whether the Eighth Circuit erred by holding that a defendant prohibited from possessing a firearm may not present a justification defense if he or she did not contact police to dispossess the firearm

QUESTION PRESENTED Several circuits have held that justification is a cognizable affirmative defense to the charge of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). In other words, a defendant who is prohibited from possessing a firearm may assert a justification defense if that defendant possessed a firearm to ward off an attack on his or her life. Did the Eighth Circuit err by holding that such a defendant may not present a justification defense if he or she did not contact police to dispossess the firearm? 1 |