UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. BARRY B. JACKSON, JR., Defendant - Appellant.
No. 23-6047
United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
May 28, 2025
PUBLISH
Before ROSSMAN, KELLY, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges. MURPHY, Circuit Judge.
David B. Autry, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Defendant – Appellant.
Steven W. Creager, Assistant United States Attorney (Robert J. Troester, United States Attorney, and Jacquelyn M. Hutzell, Assistant United States Attorney, with him on the briefs), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Plaintiff – Appellee.
I. INTRODUCTION
After the district court denied his motion to declare
At sentencing, the district court determined Jackson‘s two separate instances of firearm possession were part of the same course of conduct and, thus, constituted
Jackson‘s conviction is consistent with the principles laid out by the Supreme Court, see United States v. Rahimi, 602 U.S. 680 (2024), and this court‘s precedent, see United States v. Rogers, 371 F.3d 1225 (10th Cir. 2004). The district court did not err in its relevant-conduct determination. Therefore, exercising jurisdiction under
II. BACKGROUND
On December 30, 2021, reacting angrily to what he perceived as aggressive driving, Jackson fired multiple gunshots at another vehicle on the John Kilpatrick Turnpike in Oklahoma. The victims reported seeing a man—later identified as Jackson—pointing and shooting a handgun at them from the passenger seat of a white vehicle. Based on reports from a third-party witness to the incident, officers were able to locate and stop the white vehicle. There were five individuals inside: Jackson, his wife, and three minor children. Upon a search, officers found two 9mm handguns inside the backpack of one of the children. After waiving her Miranda rights, Jackson‘s wife told the officers it was Jackson who shot at the other vehicle. Due to a prior domestic violence misdemeanor conviction, Jackson was indicted on a single count of unlawfully possessing two firearms in violation of
On April 20, 2022, Jackson was arrested on the federal charge in a Tulsa residence in which he lived. In executing the arrest warrant, law enforcement officers observed a shotgun propped against a wall. Jackson waived his Miranda rights and told officers the shotgun was in his wife‘s name and kept for protection. Law enforcement returned to the residence later that day with a search warrant. A search of the residence uncovered, among other things, three additional firearms, one of which was a pistol loaded with a large-capacity magazine.
Jackson filed a motion to declare
The Presentencing Investigation Report (“PSR“) determined Jackson‘s possession of firearms on the day of his arrest was conduct relevant to the offense of his conviction. The PSR recommended a Guidelines range which reflected this determination: The base offense level was calculated to be twenty because Jackson had possessed a firearm capable of accepting a large-capacity magazine. See U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(a)(4)(B). The offense level was further increased by two because Jackson‘s offense was determined to involve five firearms. See U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(1)(A). Jackson objected to the PSR‘s relevant-conduct determination, arguing the firearms found
At sentencing, the district court overruled Jackson‘s objections and adopted the Guidelines range recommended by the PSR. The district court reasoned Jackson‘s conduct in possessing firearms at the time of his arrest was the same status-based offense as the offense of conviction. Hence, the two incidents were determined to be parts of the same course of conduct and, thereby, constituted relevant conduct. Combined with other enhancements and adjustments not at issue on this appeal, the district court concluded Jackson‘s Guidelines range was 63 to 78 months. He was ultimately sentenced to serve a 72-month term of imprisonment.
III. DISCUSSION
A. Second Amendment Challenge
Jackson challenges the constitutionality of
“Challenges to the constitutionality of a statute are reviewed de novo.” United States v. Lynch, 881 F.3d 812, 817 (10th Cir. 2018). “The court begins its review with the presumption that the statute is constitutional.” Id.
1. Nature of the Challenge
Jackson moved the district court to declare “§ 922(g)(9) is facially unconstitutional” and to dismiss his indictment as a charge under an unconstitutional statute. Jackson, 622 F. Supp. 3d at 1065. During oral argument on appeal, his counsel similarly claimed to be raising a facial challenge by which he sought to vacate his conviction.2
A facial challenge “is the most difficult challenge to mount successfully because it requires a defendant to establish that no set of circumstances exists under which the [challenged statute] would be valid.” Rahimi, 602 U.S. at 693 (quoting United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739, 745 (1987)); see Salerno, 481 U.S. at 745 (holding the overbreadth doctrine has not been recognized outside the context of the First Amendment). To prevail, the government only needs to demonstrate
In this case, the government prevails by demonstrating the statute is “constitutional as applied to the facts of [the defendant‘s] own case.” Id. “The fact that the [challenged statute] might operate unconstitutionally under some conceivable set of circumstances is insufficient to render it wholly invalid.” Salerno, 481 U.S. at 745. Because
2. Bruen Test
The Second Amendment provides “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
In New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass‘n, Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022), the Supreme Court held that the scope of the individual right to keep and bear arms is determined by analyzing constitutional text and history. See id. at 17-19 (interpreting Heller). The analysis is conducted through a two-part, burden-shifting test. At the first step, the party asserting the right must establish the plain text of the Second Amendment covers their conduct. See id. at 17. Failure to so establish amounts to a failure to present a claim of a Second Amendment violation. See id. If the challenging party is successful, however, the burden shifts to the government to “justify its regulation by demonstrating that it is consistent with the Nation‘s historical tradition of firearm regulation.” Id. at 24. If the challenged regulation fits within the nation‘s “historical tradition of firearm regulation,” it is lawful under the Second Amendment. Id.
a. Holding of Rahimi
Following Bruen, the Supreme Court in Rahimi addressed a constitutional challenge to
Rahimi held
The Court identified “two distinct legal regimes” that regulated individuals who physically threatened others with firearms: surety laws and “going armed” laws. Id. at 695, 697.
Surety laws were invoked as a “preventive” measure against all forms of violence. Id. at 695-96 (explaining the applicability of surety laws against spousal abuse and misuse of firearms). Upon a complaint establishing reasonable fear of violence, judicial officers were empowered
“Going armed” laws, on the other hand, represented a restriction upon those who had threatened others with firearms. See id. at 697. Going armed laws proscribed “riding or going armed, with dangerous or unusual weapons, [to] terrify[]” others. Id. (quotation omitted). Those who violated going armed laws could be ordered to forfeit their firearms. See id.
Although neither surety nor going armed laws were “dead ringers” or “historical twins” of
The Rahimi Court then held the application of
b. Bruen Test – First Step
The inquiry at the first step of the Bruen test comprises three elements: “(1) whether the challenger is part of the people whom the Second Amendment protects, (2) whether the item at issue is an arm that is in common use today for self-defense, and (3) whether the proposed course of conduct falls within the Second Amendment.” Rocky Mountain Gun Owners v. Polis, 121 F.4th 96, 114 (10th Cir. 2024) (quotations omitted). The text of the Second Amendment is given its “[n]ormal meaning,” as it would have been understood by “ordinary citizens in the founding generation.” Id. (quotation omitted); see Heller, 554 U.S. at 634-35 (“Constitutional rights are enshrined with the scope they were understood to have when people adopted them. . . .“). The reach of the Second Amendment may nevertheless extend to modern contexts and applications. See Heller, 554 U.S. at 582 (“[T]he Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding.“); Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, 121 F.4th at 114.
The government concedes the Second Amendment‘s plain text covers Jackson‘s conduct. First, “[t]he people, as referred to in the Second Amendment, denotes a class of persons who are part of a national community or who have otherwise developed sufficient connection with this country to be considered part of that community.” Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, 121 F.4th at 114 (quotation omitted). This includes Jackson, who is a United States citizen. See id. at 116-17. His prior criminal convictions do not exclude him from the being a member of the political community. See id. at 116; see also Rahimi, 602 U.S. at 701.4 Second, pistols, the possession of which led to Jackson‘s conviction, fall squarely within the Second Amendment‘s definition of “arms.” See Bruen, 597 U.S. at 32. Finally, in his motion to declare
right of self-defense [is] central to the Second Amendment right.” Heller, 554 U.S. at 628.
c. Bruen Test – Second Step
The government, at this second step, bears the burden of establishing
“Domestic violence often escalates in severity over time, and the presence of a firearm increases the likelihood that it will escalate to homicide.” United States v. Castleman, 572 U.S. 157, 160 (2014) (citations omitted). Felon disarmament laws, however, were not effective in preventing domestic abusers from accessing firearms because, “notwithstanding the harmfulness of their conduct,” many perpetrators were convicted of only misdemeanors or not charged at all. Voisine v. United States, 579 U.S. 686, 689 (2016); see United States v. Hayes, 555 U.S. 415, 426 (2009). Congress enacted
In Rogers, this court analyzed the bases for
Section 922(g)(9) makes it “unlawful for any person . . . who has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence . . . to . . . possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition.”
Although his indictment references a single conviction of misdemeanor domestic violence, Jackson‘s criminal history reflects two separate convictions. First, he was charged after grabbing the neck of his domestic partner following an altercation. He applied enough force in his grip to leave visible lacerations on the victim‘s neck. Before a state court, Jackson pleaded nolo contendere and was convicted of misdemeanor domestic battery under Kansas law. In the second instance, Jackson was charged with misdemeanor domestic assault and battery under Oklahoma law after he punched the face of a woman he was dating, while she was holding the couple‘s minor child. He was convicted after pleading guilty before a state court.
Both convictions represent “judicial determinations” Jackson engaged in violence against a family member or an intimate partner. Rahimi, 602 U.S. at 698-99. Jackson‘s acts of domestic violence and his subsequent convictions demonstrate his “propensity for the use of physical violence against others.” Rogers, 371 F.3d at 1229. By possessing a firearm, Jackson poses a “substantial risk” of using physical force against the person or property of another. Id. at 1228. Section 922(g)(9) restrictions are for the purpose of mitigating “demonstrated threats of physical violence.” Rahimi, 602 U.S. at 699. Jackson was disarmed for reasons consistent with this nation‘s tradition of firearm regulation.
Section 922(g)(9) prohibited Jackson from possessing a firearm unless and until one of the conditions identified in
Jackson raises several arguments to the contrary. He first argues
Jackson also asks this court to adopt a construction of Rahimi in which only those presenting an immediate threat to the physical safety of others may be disarmed. This position does not find support in Rahimi which, in declining to “undertake an exhaustive historical analysis,” held “[a]n individual found by a court to pose a credible threat to the physical safety of another may be temporarily disarmed consistent with the Second Amendment.” Id. at 702. Nothing about this holding suggests only those posing an immediate threat may be disarmed.5
To the extent that Jackson asserts his conviction should be treated differently from other misdemeanor domestic violence convictions, such an argument also falls short. In Vincent, this court upheld the constitutionality of
B. Reasonableness of the Sentence
Next, Jackson challenges the procedural and substantive reasonableness of his sentence. Because he raised his objections at the district court, his sentence is reviewed “under an abuse of discretion standard for procedural and substantive
Procedural reasonableness “requires, among other things, a properly calculated Guidelines range.” United States v. Saavedra, 523 F.3d 1287, 1289 (10th Cir. 2008). “When evaluating the district court‘s interpretation and application of the Sentencing Guidelines, we review legal questions de novo and factual findings for clear error, giving due deference to the district court‘s application of the guidelines to the facts.” United States v. Zamora, 97 F.4th 1202, 1207-08 (10th Cir. 2024) (quotation omitted). Substantive reasonableness, on the other hand, requires the sentence to be “reasonable given all the circumstances of the case in light of the factors set forth in
Although Jackson disputes multiple aspects of his sentence, the basis for his dispute boils down to a single issue. He argues the district court erred by determining his possession of the firearms on the day of his arrest was conduct relevant to the offense of his conviction. Jackson asserts this purported error resulted in a procedurally unreasonable sentence because it led to an improperly calculated Guidelines range. He also argues his resulting sentence was substantively unreasonable because it, being based on an incorrectly high Guidelines range, went unreasonably beyond what a correct Guidelines range would recommend.
The district court‘s factual findings supporting the determination of relevant conduct is reviewed for clear error; however, the “ultimate determination of relevant conduct” is reviewed de novo. United States v. Damato, 672 F.3d 832, 838 (10th Cir. 2012).
The district court determined Jackson‘s possession of multiple firearms—including one capable of accepting a large-capacity magazine—to be relevant conduct. See U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3. The district court explained Jackson kept firearms at the residence as part of the same course of conduct as his offense of conviction. See U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3 cmt. n.5(B)(ii). According to the district court, Jackson “repeated” the same status-based offense within four months of the offense of conviction.
Jackson argues the district court erred because there is not a sufficient nexus between the two instances of conduct. He insists the firearms found at the residence were not related to his offense of conviction and claims four months is sufficient enough time to dissociate these two occurrences. He, however, does not contest the district court‘s finding that he, in fact, possessed the three firearms. The government responds by pointing to the factual similarity between the two instances of conduct. It also notes how the two instances were separated only by a short period of time.
Determination of relevant conduct is based on “whether there is a strong relationship between the uncharged conduct and the convicted offense.” United States v. Allen, 488 F.3d 1244, 1255 (10th Cir. 2007) (quotation omitted). The government must demonstrate, by a preponderance of the evidence, “a significant similarity, regularity, and temporal proximity” between the uncharged conduct and the offense of conviction. Id. (quotation omitted). In the absence of one of these factors, “a stronger presence of at least one of the other factors is required.” U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3 cmt. n.5(B)(ii).
All three of Jackson‘s challenges to the reasonableness of his sentence fail as a result. The district court did not abuse its discretion by calculating Jackson‘s base offense level to be twenty upon its assessment that, as part of his offense, he possessed a firearm capable of accepting a large-capacity magazine. See U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(a)(4)(B). Nor did the district court abuse its discretion by further increasing the offense level by two based on its assessment that his offense involved five firearms. See U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(1)(A). Because Jackson fails to establish the Guidelines range was incorrectly calculated, his sentence falls within the range as determined by the district court. “A within-guideline-range sentence that the district court properly calculated is entitled to a rebuttable presumption of reasonableness on appeal.” United States v. Wireman, 849 F.3d 956, 964 (10th Cir. 2017) (quotation omitted). Because Jackson does not raise any arguments to rebut this presumption, his substantive challenge falls short.
IV. CONCLUSION
The judgment of conviction and sentence of the district court are affirmed.
MURPHY
Circuit Judge
