Opinion ID: 786745
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Commerce Clause Arguments

Text: 25 Vallejo next presents a set of arguments concerning statutory violations of the Commerce Clause. U.S. CONST., art. I, § 8. To be in accord with the Commerce Clause, a statute must regulate activities that substantially affect interstate commerce. United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549, 559, 115 S.Ct. 1624, 131 L.Ed.2d 626 (1995). Vallejo challenges the constitutionality of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), making it a crime for a felon to possess a firearm and 18 U.S.C. § 924(e), the ACCA. He also challenges the constitutionality of the Sentencing Guidelines. These arguments have been considered by this Court on numerous occasions. We review these constitutional challenges de novo. Schaffner, 258 F.3d at 678. 26 With regard to 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), Vallejo argues that the mere possession of a firearm that, admittedly, once traveled in interstate commerce does not substantially affect interstate commerce. To fulfill its obligations under the Commerce Clause, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) has a jurisdictional element — it states in relevant part: It shall be unlawful for any person ... who has been convicted ... of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year ... to ... possess in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). This Court, and our sister Circuits, have consistently held that, because of its jurisdictional element, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) comports with the requirements of the Commerce Clause. See, e.g., United States v. Bell, 70 F.3d 495, 498 (7th Cir.1995) (considering § 922(q) in light of Lopez and determining the jurisdictional element rendered the law valid); United States v. Fleischli, 305 F.3d 643, 653 (7th Cir.2002) (determining § 922(g) does not violate the Commerce Clause, considered in the context of the Supreme Court's decision in Jones v. United States, 529 U.S. 848, 120 S.Ct. 1904, 146 L.Ed.2d 902 (2000)); United States v. Darrington, 351 F.3d 632, 634 (5th Cir.2003); United States v. Thompson, 361 F.3d 918, 922 (6th Cir.2004); United States v. Leathers, 354 F.3d 955, 959 (8th Cir.2004); United States v. Dunn, 345 F.3d 1285, 1297 (11th Cir.2003). We decline at this time to reconsider our Circuit's holding on this issue. Similarly, because Vallejo's violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) is a necessary element of his violation of the ACCA, we also decline to review the validity of the ACCA at this time. 2 27 Finally, Vallejo argues that U.S.S.G. § 4B1 violates the Commerce Clause because the commission of violent crimes does not affect interstate commerce. Vallejo would have us review a string of recent Supreme Court decisions stemming from United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549, 115 S.Ct. 1624, 131 L.Ed.2d 626 (1995) and United States v. Morrison, 529 U.S. 598, 120 S.Ct. 1740, 146 L.Ed.2d 658 (2000) that have found federal legislation unconstitutional for defining as criminal activity behavior that did not substantially affect interstate commerce. Lopez, 514 U.S. at 561-68, 115 S.Ct. 1624 (holding that a federal law criminalizing possession of a firearm within a school zone violated the Commerce Clause); Morrison, 529 U.S. at 613-19, 120 S.Ct. 1740 (declaring unconstitutional the Violence Against Women Act because regulation of gender-motivated crime does not substantially affect interstate commerce). We decline this invitation. The law is clear that, although the federal government must have a commerce nexus to pass criminal statutes (such as the one under which Vallejo was convicted), the government may prescribe a sentence for such violation without having to again show a commerce nexus. United States v. Stowe, 100 F.3d 494, 501 (7th Cir.1996). Because Vallejo's enhancement was determined as part of his sentence, the government need not show a commercial nexus. 28 For all of the above-stated reasons, we AFFIRM the holdings of the district court.