Opinion ID: 3010492
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Any person who purchases or otherwise

Text: obtains any firearms or ammunition from any source within or outside of the Virgin Islands shall report such fact in writing or in person to the Commissioner within 24 hours after receipt of the firearm or ammunition .... 7 (c) . . . If the person is not qualified for a license then the Commissioner shall retain the firearms or ammunition . . . , but no prosecution shall lie against the person for unlawful possession of the firearm or ammunition.5 The twenty-four hour grace period was removed from§ 470 in September 1996. Under the current statute, a person must obtain a license immediately upon possession of a firearm. V.I. Code Ann. tit. 23, § 470 (Sept. 1996). Defendants argue it was the government's burden to prove their firearm possession lasted beyond twenty-four hours. It is always the government's burden to prove _________________________________________________________________ 5. The complete text of § 470 (1968) provided: (a) Any person other than a licensed dealer, who purchases or otherwise obtains any firearms or ammunition from any source within or outside of the Virgin Islands shall report such fact in writing or in person to the Commissioner within 24 hours after receipt of the firearm or ammunition, furnishing a complete description of the firearm or ammunition purchased or otherwise obtained. He shall also furnish his own name, address, date of birth and occupation. (b) Any person upon entering the Virgin Islands bringing with him any firearm or ammunition shall report in writing or in person to the Commissioner within 24 hours of his arrival, furnishing a complete description of the firearm or ammunition brought into the Virgin Islands. He shall also furnish his own name, address, date of birth and occupation. (c) In the event the person reporting under subsections (a) or (b), above, is qualified for a license to carry firearms in the Virgin Islands, the Commissioner shall issue the same, upon payment of the proper fee, and the firearm shall be registered in the Weapons Register provided for in section 469 of this chapter. If the person is not qualified for a license then the Commissioner shall retain the firearms or ammunition for disposition in accordance with the provisions of section 475 of this chapter, but no prosecution shall lie against the person for unlawful possession of the firearm or ammunition. (d) Any person who fails to comply with this section shall be punished as provided in section 484 of this chapter [the General Penalty section]. 8 beyond a reasonable doubt . . . every fact necessary to constitute the crime with which [a defendant] is charged. In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 364 (1970). The issue, then, is whether possession for more than twenty-four hours is a fact necessary to constitute the crime of unlawful possession in violation of § 2253. Our review of statutory construction is plenary. See Christopher v. Davis Beach Co., 15 F.3d 38, 41 (3d Cir. 1994). We must first look to the language of V.I. Code Ann. tit. 14, § 2253. See United States v. Schneider, 14 F.3d 876, 879 (3d Cir. 1994). The statute punishes anyone who, unless otherwise authorized by law, has, possesses, bears, transports or carries either openly or concealed on or about his person, or under his control in any vehicle of any description any firearm. Section 2253 does not mention duration of possession nor does it reference the twenty-four hour grace period in § 470. In the past we have interpreted the clause unless otherwise authorized by law to mean possession without a license. See Government of Virgin Islands v. Soto, 718 F.2d 72, 80 (3d Cir. 1983) ([T]he gravamen of [§ 2253] appears to have been the possession of unlicensed firearms . . . .); Government of Virgin Islands v. Bedford, 671 F.2d 758, 763 n.7 (3d Cir. 1982) (approving a jury instruction that § 2253(a) is violated if, the defendant possessed the firearm; . . . he was not licensed to possess it; and . . . it meets the definition .. . of a firearm.). The government must prove the absence of a firearms license. But we have never designated proof of possession for more than twenty-four hours as an element of the crime. Nonetheless, we will examine whether possession for less than twenty-four hours is a proper affirmative defense under the Supreme Court standard. At issue is whether the government is required to prove enough under § 2253, without proof of duration, to make it just for the defendant to be required to repel the charges with an affirmative defense. Patterson, 432 U.S. at 203 n.9 (quoting Morrison v. California, 291 U.S. 82, 88-89 (1934)). We must balance the parties' opportunities for knowledge and determine whether the shifting of the burden will be found to be an aid to the accuser without subjecting the accused to hardship or oppression. Id. 9 A balancing of the opportunities for knowledge reveals it is far easier for the defendant to know of, and assert, firearm possession under twenty-four hours than it is for the government to establish possession for more than twenty-four hours. Except when a firearm is purchased lawfully from a vendor who keeps records and the purchase and buyer are capable of being traced, we believe that when a firearm was obtained is almost always exclusively within the knowledge of the defendant. See United States v. Gainey, 380 U.S. 63, 63 (1965) (The practical impossibility of proving a statutory violation resulted in presumption against defendants charged with violating the statute.) In addition, the defendants' argument would require the government to prove in each prosecution that none of the statutory exceptions to the firearm license requirement are satisfied.6 Such an interpretation would conflict with our obligation to construe statutes sensibly and avoid constructions which yield absurd or unjust results. See United States v. Turkette, 452 U.S. 576, 580 (1981); Government of Virgin Islands v. Berry, 604 F.2d 221, 225 (3d Cir. 1979). After the government proves unlicensed firearm possession, we do not find it a hardship for the defendant to come forward with evidence of the duration of possession.7 Therefore, we hold § 470 is not an element of the offense of unlawful firearm possession under V.I. Code Ann. tit. 14, § 2253, but rather is an affirmative defense. _________________________________________________________________ 6. For example, the government would have to prove the defendants are not members of any of the armed forces of the United States, see V.I. Code Ann. tit. 23, § 453(a)(1), that defendants are not officers or employees of a federal agency authorized by law to carry firearms, see V.I. Code Ann. tit. 23, § 453(a)(2), that defendants are not jail wardens, see V.I. Code Ann. tit. 23, § 453(a)(5), and that defendants do not have licenses to carry firearms in any of the United States, see V.I. Code Ann. tit. 23, § 460. 7. It is consistent with Virgin Islands statutory law to draw an inference against a defendant from his unlicensed firearm possession. See, e.g., V.I. Code Ann. tit. 14, § 2253(c) (Defendant's unlicensed firearm possession shall be evidence of his intention to commit [a] crime of violence.). 10