McCormick v. United States

Whether the Fourth Circuit's judgment should be vacated and this case remanded for further review in light of this Court's recent opinion in Rehaif v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, 139 S. Ct. 2191, 204 L. Ed. 2d 594 (2019).

Petitioner was charged with one count of felony possession of a firearm and one count of possession of ammunition in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Petitioner pled guilty to the ammunition count and was sentenced under that statute. Petitioner appealed the sentence to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that the sentence was unreasonable and represented a variance of three years above the sentencing range. The court affirmed Petitioner’s sentence, holding that the offense conduct and criminal history of Petitioner was appropriately considered in the sentence determination. Petitioner appeals and argues that the case should be considered in light of the United States Supreme Court in Rehaif that held that the government must prove a defendant knows of his status for prosecutions under § 922(g) and § 924(a)(2). Rehaif v. United States, 588 U.S. ­­­____ (2019). Petitioner argues that remand is necessary for the parties to address whether the plea agreement was made with a knowing defendant in light of this decision. Respondent did not contest the petition and the United States Supreme Court granted Petitioner’s prayer that the Fourth Circuit’s decision be vacated and the case remanded to consider in light of Rehaif. VACATED and REMANDED.