Whether a false statement in a firearm purchase was material

QUESTIONS PRESENTED In the Eleventh Circuit, in a prosecution for making a false statement in connection with the acquisition of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6), the question whether the false statement was “material” is for the judge to decide, not the jury, and, when the purchaser’s false statement is about his address, the judge is bound by Circuit caselaw which holds that a falsehood about one’s address is always material. These interpretations of § 922(a)(6) conflict with the law in other Circuits, where materiality is an issue for the jury, not the judge, and a falsehood about one’s residence in not per se material. This petition therefore presents the following questions: (1) is the issue whether a false statement was material to a firearms transaction a question for the judge, or the jury? (2) is a false statement about a buyer’s residential address always material to the acquisition of a firearm, or does its materiality depend on the facts of the case? i INTERESTED PARTIES There are no