jurisdictional-element

27 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-6344 Ralph Kevin Tovar v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2025-12-11 Pending Response RequestedResponse WaivedIFP commerce-clause de-novo-review internet-crime jurisdictional-element rule-29 sufficiency-of-evidence I. Whether a general challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, pursuant to Rule 29(a), preserves for de novo review the full range of sufficiency …
25A484 Ralph Kevin Tovar v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2025-10-28 Application circuit-split federal-criminal-law interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element sex-trafficking statutory-interpretation Whether the use of internet-based interstate communication instrumentalities alone is sufficient to satisfy the 'in or affecting interstate commerce' …
25A17 Brandon Keith Thompson v. United States Tenth Circuit 2025-07-08 Presumed Complete commerce-clause constitutional-challenge federal-prosecution firearm-possession interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element Whether 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)'s jurisdictional element for firearm possession violates the Commerce Clause when applied to a defendant whose firearm p…
24-735 Raymond Liddy v. United States Ninth Circuit 2025-01-13 Denied circuit-split federal-criminal-law internet-crime interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element statutory-interpretation Whether statutes containing 'in interstate or foreign commerce' language require proof of actual interstate transmission or merely internet use
23A1122 Anthony Pandrella v. United States Second Circuit 2024-06-18 Presumed Complete circuit-split criminal-statute federal-jurisdiction hobbs-act interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element Whether a potential or de minimis effect on interstate commerce is sufficient to satisfy the jurisdictional element of the Hobbs Act
23A835 Alif Jan Adil v. United States Fourth Circuit 2024-03-12 Presumed Complete age-of-consent criminal-law federal-criminal-statute jurisdictional-element sexual-abuse statutory-interpretation Whether knowledge of a minor's age is an essential element of criminal liability under 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b) for persuading or enticing a minor to engag…
23-5815 Emily Claire Hari v. United States Eighth Circuit 2023-10-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP circuit-split commerce-clause congressional-authority constitutional-challenge criminal-law criminal-statute free-exercise jurisdictional-element non-economic Whether the 'jurisdictional element' contained within 18 U.S.C. § 247, standing alone, serves to authorize congressional enactment of a criminal statu…
23-5649 Jonathan Monson v. United States First Circuit 2023-09-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-2251 child-exploitation criminal-law criminal-statute due-process interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element minor-protection sexual-exploitation visual-depiction Does Section 2251(a) of Title 18 require evidence that a defendant sexually exploited a minor for the purpose of producing a visual depiction, and tha…
23-5506 Alisbey Santillon Gata v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2023-09-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP commerce-clause constitutional-law constitutional-powers criminal-law criminal-offense interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element statutory-interpretation Whether a jurisdictional element satisfied by a de minimis connection to interstate commerce is sufficient to bring a purely local, non-economic crimi…
22-7157 Andreqio Stevens v. United States Sixth Circuit 2023-03-30 Denied IFP 2nd-amendment commerce-clause criminal-law criminal-statute due-process federal-jurisdiction firearm-possession interstate-transportation jurisdictional-element prohibited-persons statutory-interpretation Does the different language used by Congress as to the possession crime require a jury to find more than a prior shipping or transportation of the fir…
22-5057 Wade Lawrence Duchaine v. United States Eighth Circuit 2022-07-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-922(g) commerce-clause criminal-prosecution federal-jurisdiction firearm-possession interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element minimal-nexus scarborough-v-united-states statutory-interpretation substantial-nexus Can the government establish the interstate commerce element in a § 922(g) prosecution under the minimal nexus standard by only providing evidence tha…
21-7979 Robert Allen Stanford, aka Sir Allen Stanford, aka Allen Stanford v. United States Fifth Circuit 2022-05-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP commerce-clause due-process federal-jurisdiction interstate-transmission jurisdictional-element miscarriage-of-justice separation-of-powers wire-fraud Whether the federal wire fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. 1343, can be used to charge, prosecute and punish a 'purely intrastate' wire communication
21-5559 Selvin Leonell Hernandez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2021-09-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP 2nd-amendment commerce-clause criminal-procedure criminal-statute evidence evidentiary-standard federal-law firearm-possession interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element mens-rea Whether possession of a firearm is 'in or affecting commerce' when there is no evidence that the defendant moved the firearm across state lines or tha…
21-5523 Amos Kiprop Koech v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-08-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof cell-phone-evidence criminal-law criminal-statute federal-statutes interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element jury-instruction reasonable-doubt Does the jurisdictional element 'in or affecting interstate commerce' in federal criminal statutes require an actual effect on interstate commerce and…
20-8361 Josh Small and Joni Amber Johnson v. United States Sixth Circuit 2021-06-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP commerce-clause criminal-law criminal-prosecution federal-jurisdiction interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element kidnapping kidnapping-statute statutory-interpretation Does a purely local home invasion satisfy the interstate commerce nexus element of the federal kidnapping statute?
20-6151 Thomas Mario Costanzo v. United States Ninth Circuit 2020-10-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP case-by-case-inquiry commerce-clause constitutional-limits constitutional-reach facilities-used-for-interstate-transactions interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element lopez-precedent transaction-analysis Whether the court of appeals' opinion conflicts with United States v. Lopez regarding the jurisdictional element of a federal statute
20-5079 Charles Monroe Finchum v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-07-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-statute due-process federal-law felon-in-possession firearms-possession interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element mens-rea statutory-interpretation Whether 18 U.S.C. §922(g) authorizes conviction upon proof that a firearm once crossed state lines at an unspecified prior occasion, when there is no …
19-8662 Jason Paris Scott v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-06-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process federal-firearms-law firearm-possession interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element mens-rea statutory-interpretation Whether 18 U.S.C. §922(g) authorizes conviction upon proof that a firearm once crossed state lines at an unspecified prior occasion, when there is no …
19-6896 Jeffrey Antonio v. United States Tenth Circuit 2019-12-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP congressional-action criminal-jurisdiction criminal-procedure due-process federal-criminal-jurisdiction federal-jurisdiction jurisdictional-element jury-determination land-claims preliminary-finding pueblo-lands pueblo-lands-act statutory-interpretation sufficiency-of-the-evidence Whether the federal criminal jurisdiction over the Pueblo of Sandia lands was terminated by the 2005 Pueblo Lands Act Amendment
19-6178 Jose Bryan Gonzalez v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-10-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof criminal-law criminal-procedure due-process federal-firearms-law firearm-possession interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element mens-rea statutory-interpretation Whether 18 U.S.C. §922(n) authorizes conviction upon proof that a firearm once crossed state lines at an unspecified prior occasion, when there is no …
19-6039 Camilo Andres Landazuri Vargas v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-09-24 Denied IFP congress-powers-limits congressional-power criminal-law due-process fifth-amendment foreign-national international-law international-waters jurisdiction jurisdictional-element maritime-drug-law maritime-drug-law-enforcement-act maritime-law sixth-amendment statutory-interpretation united-states-constitution Whether the prosecution of Mr. Vargas - an Ecuadorian national with no ties to the United States - for trafficking controlled substances in internatio…
19-5699 Robert Gray v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-08-23 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP commerce-clause criminal-law criminal-procedure criminal-statute due-process federal-firearms-law federal-jurisdiction federal-law firearm-possession firearms interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element mens-rea statutory-interpretation Whether 18 U.S.C. §922(g) authorizes conviction upon proof that a firearm once crossed state lines at an unspecified prior occasion, when there is no …
19-5654 Shederro Lemarc Brooks v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-08-21 Denied Response WaivedIFP criminal-procedure criminal-statute due-process federal-firearms-law federal-law firearm-possession interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element mens-rea statutory-interpretation Whether 18 U.S.C. §922(g) authorizes conviction upon proof that a firearm once crossed state lines at an unspecified prior occasion, when there is no …
18-9726 Lorenzo Hale v. United States Fifth Circuit 2019-06-19 GVR IFP 2nd-amendment criminal-procedure criminal-statute felon-in-possession firearm-possession interstate-commerce jurisdictional-element mens-rea prior-occasion recent-past state-lines statutory-interpretation Whether 18 U.S.C. §922(g) authorizes conviction upon proof that a firearm once crossed state lines at an unspecified prior occasion, when there is no …
18-8719 Ciaran Paul Redmond v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-04-08 Denied IFP appellate-review circuit-conflict criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-appeal federal-jurisdiction judicial-notice jurisdictional-element jury-instructions jury-trial sentencing standards-of-review statutory-interpretation Whether, after a jury trial, a federal court of appeals can take judicial notice of evidence submitted by the government for the first time on appeal …
18-6865 Adony Nina v. United States Second Circuit 2018-11-28 Denied Response WaivedIFP aiding-and-abetting burden-of-proof criminal-law criminal-statute due-process jurisdiction jurisdictional-element prosecutorial-burden reasonable-doubt statutory-interpretation united-states Whether Title 18 U.S.C. § 2 (Aiding and Abetting) Requires the Prosecution to Prove Beyond A Reasonable Doubt The Jurisdictional Element By Establishi…
18-6186 Alvin Gaitan Benitez, aka Pesadilla, aka Lil Pesadilla, aka Lil Tuner, aka Tooner, aka Lil Tunnel v. United States Fourth Circuit 2018-10-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP antagonistic-defense antagonistic-defenses codefendant criminal-procedure due-process fair-trial interstate-commerce jurisdiction jurisdictional-element motion-for-severance severance Whether the circuit court erred in affirming the denial of a motion for severance