Supreme Court of the United States
United States v. Hemani
June 18, 2026146 S.Ct. 1677
Summary
Justice Gorsuch's opinion for seven Justices held that the government failed to justify prosecuting Hemani under 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(3) solely because he regularly used marijuana while possessing a firearm. The government's historical habitual-drunkard analogues differed cumulatively in the people regulated, their purposes, and their operation. The Court affirmed without deciding the validity of restrictions on addicts, intoxicated persons, or drug users shown to be dangerous. Justice Thomas joined fully but separately questioned §922(g)'s constitutionality under the Commerce Clause. Justice Jackson, joined by Justice Sotomayor, joined fully but urged reconsideration of Bruen in favor of means-end scrutiny. Justice Alito, joined by Justice Kagan, concurred only in the judgment and would rely solely on the mismatch between incapacitated habitual drunkards and the marijuana use established here. Required outside confirmation could not be performed; these conclusions reflect the supplied opinion text.
Holding
- Constitutionality of §922(g)(3)'s unlawful-user prohibition as applied to Hemani on the government's asserted theory.. The government failed to establish that prosecuting Hemani solely for possessing a firearm while regularly using marijuana was consistent with the Second Amendment.
Docket 24-1234
Cited authorities
- CA10
- CA11
- CA10
- CA10
- 18 U.S.C. §922
- 1874 Conn. Pub. Acts 256
- 43 Law & Hist. Rev. 795
- 31 U. Rich. L. Rev. 111