This week Mirriam Z. Seddiq was able to get a victory at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in a very rare format: consent! The United States Supreme Court last year held that in order to be guilty of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm you had to know of your prohibited status at the time of the offense. Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019). Following Rehaif, the Fourth Circuit, in a departure from other federal circuits, made the correct decision in finding that failure to inform a defendant of this element is such a fundamental part of a voluntary plea that that failure to cover it “per se affects a defendant’s substantial rights.” United States v. Gary, 954 F.3d 194, 198 (4th Cir. 2020).
Built upon these arguments, Mirriam filed a brief on behalf of our client at the Fourth Circuit. After filing her opening brief she was able to convince the federal prosecutors that she would prevail under Rehaif and they consented to remand! The order can be found here:
If you have a friend or family member dealing with a Rehaif claim and are interested in retaining our firm, please call for a free consultation at 301.513.7832, or use or consult calendaring app located on our website.