The U.S. Supreme Court has granted the Department of Justice more time to decide whether it will appeal a federal court ruling that questioned the constitutionality of a federal law banning marijuana users from owning firearms.
Last week, Justice Brett Kavanaugh approved a request from Solicitor General D. John Sauer to extend the deadline for filing a potential appeal until June 5. Sauer, who recently assumed the solicitor general role, said in the request that additional time was necessary to consult with other agencies and assess the implications of the lower court’s decision.
The case, U.S. v. Baxter, stems from the arrest of Keshon Daveon Baxter, who was found with both marijuana and a firearm. Federal prosecutors charged Baxter under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), a statute that prohibits gun ownership by anyone who is an “unlawful user” of a controlled substance.
Baxter challenged the charges, arguing the statute is unconstitutionally vague and that the law infringes on his Second Amendment rights. A district court rejected both claims, but in February, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s decision on the constitutional challenge, finding the record lacked the factual development needed to assess Baxter’s Second Amendment claim. The appellate court sent the case back for further proceedings.
The government’s original deadline to seek Supreme Court review was May 6. The extension gives the DOJ until early June to determine whether to file a petition for a writ of certiorari, a move that could ultimately bring the intersection of marijuana use and gun rights before the nation’s highest court.
