Opinion ID: 728939
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Improper delegation of authority.

Text: 17 McKenzie also contends that Congress improperly delegated authority to the states to define elements of a federal crime. He points to 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20), which states: What constitutes a conviction of [a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year] shall be determined in accordance with the law of the jurisdiction in which the proceedings were held. His argument is that since the application of § 922(g)(1) ultimately hinges on state law, Congress failed its duty to define the elements of the offense. In support of his argument, he cites the Court's proclamation in Whalen v. United States, 445 U.S. 684, 689, 100 S.Ct. 1432, 1436, 63 L.Ed.2d 715 (1980) that the power to define criminal offenses ... resides wholly with the Congress. 18 The government contends that § 922(g)(1) and § 921(a)(20) do not improperly delegate congressional authority because each state is free to classify criminal behavior as it chooses within the strictures of the Eighth Amendment. See Rummel v. Estelle, 445 U.S. 263, 284, 100 S.Ct. 1133, 1144-45, 63 L.Ed.2d 382 (1980). McKenzie replied that Rummel's discussion of the state's authority to criminalize behavior has nothing to do with his arguments challenging Congress' authority to delegate its legislative power to the states. A review of the plain language of the statute demonstrates that McKenzie's arguments lack merit. Section 922(g)(1) does not include felony as an element of the offense. Rather, it prohibits firearm possession by those convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. Congress, not the states, has defined the elements of the federal offense described in § 922(g)(1). Thus, while states may vary on what offenses are punishable by a term exceeding one year, it does not alter Congress' intent to keep guns out of the hands of anyone that a given state determines to be a felon. Congress controls this declaration. See Weatherford, 471 F.2d at 52 n. 6 (rejecting, without discussion, the argument that Congress improperly delegated its authority in enacting § 922(g)(1)). 19 Based on the foregoing, we AFFIRM McKenzie's conviction and sentence because he failed to show that the statute to which he pleaded guilty was unconstitutional.