Andrew Chafin v. United States

Petition Andrew Chafin is prohibited from possessing a firearm for the rest of his life because he shoplifted several cases of energy drinks from two grocery stores. For those shoplifting incidents, he was convicted of two felonies in Virginia: felony petit larceny (3rd offense) and grand larceny. Neither offense would be classified as a felony today. Since his convictions in 2018, Virginia has increased the threshold for grand larceny from $200 to $1,000, and in 2021, Virginia abolished the crime of felony petit larceny. Nevertheless, Mr. Chafin is classified as a felon for federal purposes and is subject to lifetime disarmament. In 2023, Mr. Chafin was found in possession of a handgun during a traffic stop in Petersburg, Virginia, and charged under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). If he had been charged in the Third, Fifth, or Sixth Circuits, he would have been able to raise an as-applied challenge to the constitutionality of the statute. But the Fourth Circuit and five other courts of appeals have held that the law is constitutional in all its applications, even as applied to individuals with old or minor or nonviolent prior convictions. Due to this happenstance of geography, Mr. Chafin’s potential constitutional claim was entirely foreclosed. The question presented in this case is whether 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)’s lifetime ban on firearm possession for all individuals previously convicted of any felony offense violates the Second Amendment as applied to Mr. Chafin.