Source: http://openjurist.org/371/f3d/430/united-states-v-pfeifer
Timestamp: 2013-12-11 19:28:00
Document Index: 725012700

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 922', '§ 921', '§ 922', '§ 922', '§ 922', '§ 922', '§ 922', '§ 922', '§ 922', '§ 922', '§ 922', '§ 921', '§ 922', '§ 921', '§ 922', '§ 921']

371 F3d 430 United States v. Pfeifer | OpenJurist
371 F. 3d 430 - United States v. Pfeifer	Home371 f3d 430 united states v. pfeifer
371 F3d 430 United States v. Pfeifer 371 F.3d 430
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff — Appellee,v.Robert Lee PFEIFER, also known as Barney Pfeifer, Defendant — Appellant.
No. 02-3606.
Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied Aug. 6, 2004.
Patricia A. Carlson, argued, Pierre, SD, for appellant.
Robert Lee Pfeifer conditionally pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm after being convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9). Pfeifer appeals his conviction on the following statutory and constitutional grounds: 1) he did not knowingly and intelligently waive the right to counsel in the predicate domestic violence conviction, as required by 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33)(B) in order to obtain a conviction under § 922(g)(9); 2) as applied to him, § 922(g)(9) violates the Ex Post Facto Clause of the United States Constitution because it effectively increases the punishment for an earlier conviction; 3) § 922(g)(9) is unconstitutionally vague because it does not provide fair warning that his possession of a firearm is prohibited conduct; 4) § 922(g)(9) is unconstitutionally overreaching in that it interferes with his Second Amendment right to bear arms. We affirm.
Both before and after his 1985 conviction, Pfeifer used firearms regularly for hunting, guide work, and as part of his work as a butcher. The simple assault conviction had no impact on his ability to possess firearms until eleven years later when Congress enacted 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), which states: "It shall be 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."
Although the record indicates that Pfeifer knew through various sources of the new law's applicability to him, he nonetheless went hunting with a rifle on November 10, 2001. He was subsequently charged with violating § 922(g)(9) and another subsection of § 922. The government later dismissed the second charge as part of a plea agreement under which Pfeifer conditionally pleaded guilty to violating § 922(g)(9). The conditional nature of the guilty plea meant that Pfeifer could raise the appeals now before this court.
Pfeifer argues that his conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) should be reversed because he did not knowingly and intelligently waive the right to counsel in the predicate misdemeanor proceeding, as required by 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33). We review de novo the district court's refusal to dismiss an indictment based on its interpretation of a federal statute. United States v. Smith, 171 F.3d 617, 619 (8th Cir.1999).
In 1996, Congress enacted § 922(g)(9), which states: "It shall be 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." In defining the term "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence," § 921(a)(33)(B)(i) provides that an earlier misdemeanor conviction shall not count as a predicate offense for purposes of § 922(g)(9) unless the defendant "was represented by counsel in the case, or knowingly and intelligently waived the right to counsel in the case."
The courts that have addressed the issue directly have interpreted § 921(a)(33)(B)(i) as creating a legal definition to be decided by the court as a matter of law rather than by a jury as an element of the crime. See United States v. Hartsock, 347 F.3d 1, 7 (1st Cir.2003) (