Defendant-appellant Raymond J. Blais (“Blais”) appeals his conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), as well as his resulting sentence of 235 months in a federal corrections facility plus five years’ supervised release. We affirm the judgment of the district court in both regards.
I. BACKGROUND
On February 3,1994, Blais was arrested in Providence, Rhode Island, after Providence police discovered a firearm in his apartment. On May 27, 1994, a federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment charging Blais with being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). On June 29, 1994, Blais filed a motion to suppress, which was denied on October 12, 1994.
Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict,
United States v. Bartelho,
Officers Dupuis and Paolino, and then later Rivera, entered the apartment, which consisted of a single open room that functioned as a bedroom, living room and dining room. The officers proceeded to question Blais, who appeared intoxicated, about the incident with McGill. At some point during this questioning, Blais sat down on the corner of the bed, and Officer Dupuis spotted a firearm lying on the bed behind Blais.
At trial, the parties stipulated as to Blais’s prior conviction of a crime punishable by a term of more than one year in prison prior to February 3, 1994, and on November 8, 1994, the jury returned a verdict of guilty on the indictment’s lone count. On January 11, 1995, Judge Lisi sentenced Blais to 235 months in prison, as well as a 5-year term of supervised release and the statutory assessments.
II. DISCUSSION
Blais makes four types of argument. The first set hinges on his contention that, in light of
United States v. López,
- U.S. -,-,
A. The Constitutionality of Section 922(g)(1), Interstate Commerce and Related Arguments
Blais makes four related arguments regarding section 922(g)(1) and the issue of whether his conviction is pursuant to a proper exercise of the power of the federal gov-
*649
eminent. Citing
López,
- U.S.-,
In
López,
the Supreme Court struck down the Gun-Free School Zones Act, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q), which prohibited a person from possessing a gun while in a “school zone.”
López,
- U.S. at-,
not an essential part of a larger regulation of economic activity, in which the regulatory scheme could be undercut unless the intrastate activity were regulated. It cannot, therefore, be sustained under our eases upholding regulations of activities that arise out of or are connected with a commercial transaction, which viewed in the aggregate, substantially affects interstate commerce.
López,
— U.S. at-,
to ship or transport in interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearms or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate commerce,
18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) (emphasis added); and (2) this court should not assume that Congress must have meant “affecting interstate commerce” when it said “affecting commerce” with respect to firearm possession by a felon. As a result, claims Blais, he was charged pursuant to an unconstitutional statute.
However, Blais’s challenge to the statute’s constitutionality is foreclosed by previous decisions of this court. Since
López,
this court has twice ruled that a facial challenge to the constitutionality of the statute at issue, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), is “hopeless on ... the law.”
United States v. Bennett,
Given the constitutionality of the statute, we believe that the indictment and the jury instructions are similarly valid, since both tracked the language of the statute in question. Furthermore, the district court read to the jury both the statute and the indictment and specifically instructed the jury that as one of the elements of the crime in question, the prosecution had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the firearm had been in or affecting
interstate
commerce. The district court stated that “[t]he Government may meet its burden with respect to this element by proving a connection or link between interstate commerce and the possession of the firearm.” The court went on to state that “[i]t is sufficient for the Government to satisfy this element to prove that the firearm, allegedly possessed by the Defendant, had[,] at some time previously, travelled across a state line” — a proposition supported by the Supreme Court’s holding in
Scarborough,
Blais also argues that the district court should have allowed his motion for a judgment of acquittal on the grounds that the government’s sole evidence on the element of “affecting interstate commerce” was the out-of-state manufacture of the handgun. Having already rejected his arguments about
Lopez’s
alteration of the
Scarborough
standard of minimal nexus, we conclude that the evidence proffered by the government was sufficient to meet its required showing of minimal nexus with interstate commerce.
See McAllister,
B. The Motion to Suppress
With respect to the motion to suppress, we review a district court’s findings of fact only for clear error,
Bartelho,
Prior to trial, Blais moved to suppress the evidence obtained during the officers’ February 3 visit to his apartment. Based on the facts presented at the evidentiary hearing, the district court denied Blais’s suppression motion. The district court rested its conclusion on the findings that the totality of the circumstances established that Blais voluntarily and knowingly invited the police officers into his apartment, and that the officers saw the gun lying on the bed in plain view.
We agree with the district court’s denial of Blais’s motion to suppress. Based on the testimony of Officer Dupuis, Officer Paolino and Rivera, the evidence at the suppression hearing reasonably supported the district court’s finding that Blais gave his consent to entry, and that that consent was voluntary. Blais argues that the officers failed to advise him of his right to deny entry. However, while the failure to inform an individual that he has a right to withhold consent is a factor to be weighed in determining the issue of voluntariness, such a failure does not preclude a finding of valid consent.
See Schneckloth v. Bustamante,
The district court found that testimony at the suppression hearing also showed that the firearm discovered was lying on the bed in plain view of the officers as they questioned Blais. Defendant’s argument that the district court erred in making this finding is based on a challenge to the credibility of the officers and the security guard. However, credibility determinations are for the district court, not us, to make.
See United, States v. Patrone,
Because we conclude that the district court’s findings of invited entry and plain view were not erroneous, we affirm its denial of Blais’s motion to suppress.
C. The Motion for Exculpatory Evidence
Blais contends that the district court erred in quashing certain subpoenas issued for the suppression hearing. On appeal, Blais points to quashed subpoenas for arrest records and reports of the Providence Police Department, including the report of the officers’ interview with McGill.
First, Blais argues that the Jencks Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3500, entitles him to these documents. However, the Act “establishes procedures whereby a criminal defendant may exercise his limited right to obtain previous statements made by government witnesses that are in the possession of the United States to be used for impeachment purposes.”
United States v. Neal,
Second, Blais contends that the sought-after information constituted material he was entitled to under
Brady v. Maryland,
In fact, Blais has failed to show that any of the additional arrest records or police reports that he seeks even exist. Indeed, McGill’s statement could not have been exculpatory. While her complaint was the impetus for the officers’ and the security guard’s visit, her statement could have had no relevance to the issues at the suppression hearing: whether Blais admitted the officers to his apartment voluntarily and whether the firearm was in plain view. As a result, we uphold the district court’s decision to quash the subpoenas at issue.
D. Blais’s Prior Convictions
Blais also contends that the district court erred by failing to explain more fully its ruling with regard to the admissibility of his prior convictions. The ruling in question was rendered in response to Blais’s motion in limine to exclude criminal convictions greater than ten years old. The government objected, filing a memorandum in support, arguing that the convictions should be admissible for impeachment of Blais pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 609. In the course of a hearing on the motion, the government withdrew its objection to the exclusion of all previous convictions save four which fell within the ten-year limit because Blais had been released from his prison term for those convictions less than ten years previously. By doing so, the government cleared the way for the exclusion of a number of Blais’s previous convictions that involved the use or possession of firearms. The district court ruled *652 that three convictions (for armed robbery,' kidnapping and driving away in an automobile) could come in. The district court explained its ruling to defense counsel as follows:
So we’re left, [counsel], with three previous convictions, none of which are greater than ten years old. The armed robbery, kidnapping and the unlawfully driving off an auto, which I’m ruling will be admissible to impeach the credibility of Mr. Blais should he decide to testify under 609. Depending upon what Mr. Blais says on the stand, the Government may seek permission of the Court to introduce any of the other convictions under another rule.
Defense counsel sought further elaboration as to the last point, asking whether testimony denying the firearm possession charge would be viewed by the court as opening the door to the other convictions. The court responded: “read the Norton case. I’m not going to do your homework for you.”
Blais argues that the court’s cryptic reference to
United States v. Norton,
We conclude that the district court’s explanation was hardly cryptic. While it may have required that Blais’s counsel do some reading, that is certainly not reversible error.
III. CONCLUSION
As a result of the foregoing, the judgment of the district court is affirmed.
