Court Opinion

ID: 9389481
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-04-25 18:01:38.807946+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:18:27.710663
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-10677        Document: 00516724674             Page: 1      Date Filed: 04/25/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________
                                                                              United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                       Fifth Circuit
                                      No. 22-10677
                                    Summary Calendar                                 FILED
                                    ____________                                 April 25, 2023
                                                                                Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                         Clerk

                                                                     Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

   Mark Anthony Roy,

                                              Defendant—Appellant.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                         for the Northern District of Texas
                              USDC No. 4:21-CR-216-1
                     ______________________________

   Before Wiener, Elrod, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
         Mark Anthony Roy pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm after a
   felony conviction, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). The
   district court sentenced him to 75 months of imprisonment and three years
   of supervised release. Roy contends that § 922(g)(1) is unconstitutional.

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-10677       Document: 00516724674          Page: 2    Date Filed: 04/25/2023

                                     No. 22-10677

            Because Roy did not challenge the constitutionality of § 922(g) before
   the district court, we review only for plain error. See United States v. Knowles,
   29 F.3d 947, 950 (5th Cir. 1994). To show plain error, the appellant must
   show a forfeited error that is clear or obvious and that affects his substantial
   rights. Puckett v. United States, 556 U.S. 129, 135 (2009). If the appellant
   makes such a showing, this court has the discretion to correct the error but
   only if it seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of
   judicial proceedings. Id.
            Roy argues that § 922(g) is unconstitutional because it exceeds
   Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause. However, this argument is
   foreclosed by United States v. Alcantar, 733 F.3d 143 (5th Cir. 2013). See
   United States v. Perryman, 965 F.3d 424, 426 (5th Cir. 2020).
            Roy also asserts that the Supreme Court’s recent decision in New York
   State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen, 142 S. Ct. 2111 (2022), suggests that
   § 922(g)(1) is unconstitutional. An error is not clear or obvious where an
   issue is disputed or unresolved, or where there is an absence of controlling
   authority. United States v. Rodriguez-Parra, 581 F.3d 227, 230-31 (5th Cir.
   2009).     In fact, “[e]ven where the argument requires only extending
   authoritative precedent, the failure of the district court [to do so] cannot be
   plain error.” Wallace v. Mississippi, 43 F.4th 482, 500 (5th Cir. 2022)
   (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Because there is no binding
   precedent explicitly holding that § 922(g)(1) is unconstitutional and because
   it is not clear that Bruen dictates such a result, Roy is unable to demonstrate
   an error that is clear or obvious. See Rodriguez-Parra, 581 F.3d at 230-31.
            AFFIRMED.

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