 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2023) |
| Small v. United States | |
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| Argued November 3, 2004 Decided April 26, 2005 | |
| Full case name | Gary Sherwood Small, Petitioner v. United States |
| Citations | 544 U.S. 385 (more) 125 S. Ct. 1752; 161 L. Ed. 2d 651; 2005 U.S. LEXIS 3700; 73 U.S.L.W. 4298; 18 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 245 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Defendant convicted, 183 F. Supp. 2d 755 (W.D. Pa. 2002); affirmed, 333 F.3d 425 (3d Cir. 2003); cert. granted, 541 U.S. 948 (2004). |
| Holding | |
| The federal law prohibiting anyone from possessing a gun who had been previously convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than a year only applied to prior convictions in courts within the United States, not foreign countries. Third Circuit reversed and remanded. | |
| Court membership | |
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| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Breyer, joined by Stevens, O'Connor, Souter, Ginsburg |
| Dissent | Thomas, joined by Scalia, Kennedy |
| Rehnquist took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. | |
| Laws applied | |
| 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) | |
Small v. United States, 544 U.S. 385 (2005),[1] was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States involving 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1),[2] which makes it illegal to possess a firearm for individuals previously "convicted in any court" of crimes for which they could have been sentenced to more than one year in prison. The Court ruled, in a five to three decision, that "any court" does not include those in foreign countries. This decision resolved a circuit split on the issue, and reversed the lower ruling of the Third Circuit that the law did apply to foreign convictions.