Memphis, TN - This morning, the United States Supreme Court granted the petition of the
United States for a writ of certiorari in United States v. Castleman, a criminal case originating in
the Western District of Tennessee, announced U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III.
In August 2009, a federal grand jury in Memphis returned a superseding indictment charging
James Castleman with two counts of possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a
misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9). The district
court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss these charges in April 2010, on the basis that
defendant’s prior Tennessee domestic assault conviction was not “a misdemeanor crime of
domestic violence," as that term is defined in federal law.
The United States appealed, and in September 2012 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth
Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling, with each Judge of the three-member panel writing
separately. The government sought rehearing by the en banc Court of Appeals, but the court
declined to reconsider its decision.
In May 2013, the United States filed a petition for a writ of certiorari from the Supreme Court.
The Court granted that petition today and will consider the case during its 2013 term, which
begins this Monday, October 7, 2013.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel French and Criminal Appellate Chief Kevin G. Ritz represented
the United States in the lower courts. The Office of the Solicitor General is representing the
government in the Supreme Court.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
