Source: http://openjurist.org/230/f3d/215/james-michael-mullis-v-united-states-of-america
Timestamp: 2015-10-05 15:18:02
Document Index: 242167750

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 922', '§ 925', '§ 925', '§ 925', '§ 1001', '§ 922', '§ 922', '§ 925', '§ 925', '§925', '§ 925', '§ 925', '§ 925', '§ 925', '§ 922']

230 F3d 215 James Michael Mullis v. United States of America | OpenJurist
230 F. 3d 215 - James Michael Mullis v. United States of America HomeFederal Reporter, Third Series230 F.3d
230 F3d 215 James Michael Mullis v. United States of America 230 F.3d 215 (6th Cir. 2000)
James Michael Mullis, Plaintiff-Appellee,v.United States of America, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 99-6312
Argued: August 2, 2000Decided and Filed: October 19, 2000
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee at Memphis. No. 98-02894--Jon Phipps McCalla, District Judge.
Thomas M. Bondy, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, CIVIL DIVISION, Washington, D.C., for Appellant.
Les Jones, W. J. Michael Cody, Susan M. Clark, BURCH, PORTER & JOHNSON, Memphis, Tennessee, for Appellee.
The United States appeals the district court's order granting plaintiff's petitionfor the removal of the firearms disabilities imposed on him by 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g)(1). The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms ("ATF") is the only agency authorized to grant relief from firearms disabilities under § 925(c). Congress, in its last eight appropriations acts, has prohibited the ATF from expending funds to process applications for the removal of firearm disabilities. The district court held that due to the inability of the ATF to act, it had subject matter jurisdiction under § 925(c) to grant relief from the disability, and restored plaintiff's right to possess firearms and ammunition. The government asserts that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to consider plaintiff's petition for the restoration of firearm rights under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c). For the reasons detailed below, we agree and reverse the judgment of the district court and dismiss the case.
In 1994, James Michael Mullis ("plaintiff") pled guilty to falsifying travel expenses in connection with his business, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years. As a consequence, plaintiff was prohibited from possessing firearms by 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g)(1), which provides in relevant part that: "[i]t shall be unlawful for any person . . . who has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year . . . to possess any firearm or ammunition." Plaintiff, who is apparently an avid hunter, sought to remove the firearm restrictions imposed on him by § 922 (g)(1). Accordingly, plaintiff obtained legal counsel, and in October of 1996, requested an application from the ATF for relief from his firearms disabilities pursuant to 18U.S.C. § 925(c). The ATF responded that it was unable to even provide plaintiff with an application due to language Congress inserted in an appropriations act, which forbad the ATF from using any appropriated funds to evaluate or process such applications.
Undeterred, plaintiff filed an action in the district court seeking the restoration of his civil rights, or in the alternative, the removal of his federal firearm disability under § 925(c). The district court denied plaintiff's petition without prejudice, stating that plaintiff must first exhaust his administrative remedies by submitting an application made pursuant to §925(c) to the ATF at least two years after the termination of his probation. Plaintiff again wrote the ATF on October 9, 1997, and was again told that the agency was not accepting applications.
In January of 1998, plaintiff filed this action for the restoration of his civil rights, or in the alternative, for removal of his federal firearm disability. The United States argued that the district court was without jurisdiction to consider plaintiff's request. The district court disagreed, concluding that Congress' appropriations acts did not suspend the judicial relief available under § 925(c). The court referred the merits of plaintiff's petition to a magistrate judge "to develop a record, make any factual findings, and make a recommendation . . . regarding the relief sought." The magistrate judge reviewed the Presentence Investigation Report prepared in 1994 at the time of plaintiff's conviction, letters and recommendations from five unrelated persons supplied by plaintiff, and consulted with the probation department to determine if plaintiff had any intervening criminal activity. After considering this information, the magistrate judge concluded that plaintiff was not likely to endanger public safety and that granting plaintiff's requested relief was not contrary to public interest.
The district court reviewed the magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation and found that the magistrate judge had adequately considered all factors other than plaintiff's mental health. Accordingly, the district court required plaintiff to submit to an examination by a psychologist.The district court then referred consideration of the resulting mental health report to the magistrate judge, who again concluded that plaintiff's firearm disability should be removed. The district court accepted the magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation and ordered the removal of plaintiff's firearm disabilities pursuant to § 925(c). The United States brought this timely appeal.
The United States contends that the language and legislative history of § 925(c) and Congress's appropriations acts show that in withdrawing funding from ATF investigations under § 925(c), Congress meant to suspend the provision's operation in its entirety. We review the district court's determination of its subject matter jurisdiction de novo. See, e.g., Michigan Peat v. Environmental Protection Agency, 175 F.3d 422, 427 (6th Cir. 1999).
We begin, as in all cases of statutory interpretation, with the language of the statute itself. Section 925(c) allows the Secretary of the Treasury to grant relief from the firearm disabilities imposed by § 922(g), stating: