Whether the Ninth Circuit erred in finding sufficient evidence to convict the defendant under 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(1) based solely on the defendant's acknowledgment of firearm ownership, and whether the Ninth Circuit erred in finding no abuse of discretion in the defendant's offense level calculation under USSG §2K2.1

Question Presented In Thompson v. Louisville, 362 U.S. 199 (1960) and Garner v. Louisiana, 368 U.S. 157 (1961), this Court held that it is a violation of due process to convict and punish a citizen without sufficient evidence of his guilt. The Circuits have held that ownership of a firearm is a distinct concept from “possession” of a firearm in the context of 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(1). The question in this case is whether the Ninth Circuit erred when it held that the United States presented sufficient evidence at trial upon which a reasonable jury could have found the defendant guilty of violating 18 U.S.C. §922(2)(1), where Porter acknowledged ownership of the firearms and the prosecution, in its closing argument, remarked that this acknowledgment alone was sufficient evidence upon which the jury could convict. Porter also submits that the Ninth Circuit erred when it found that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it determined Porter’s offense level pursuant to USSG §2K2.1(b)(2) instead of §2K2.1(a)(6). i | |