Overview
- The Court granted review on Oct. 20 in United States v. Hemani, a Texas case in which agents found a handgun, marijuana and cocaine during an FBI search.
- The Fifth Circuit ruled the ban unconstitutional in most applications, saying past drug use alone cannot strip gun rights absent proof of intoxication when armed, and it dismissed Hemani’s charge.
- The Justice Department is urging the justices to uphold 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3), calling it a limited, temporary bar and a modern analogue to founding‑era restrictions on habitual drunkards.
- Multiple appeals courts have narrowed the statute and called for individualized assessments, creating a circuit split the Supreme Court is poised to resolve.
- Oral arguments are expected in 2026 with a decision likely by June, in a case touching a law used in Hunter Biden’s 2024 conviction and in hundreds of prosecutions each year.