{"ID":63320,"name":"United States v. Gary","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/cases\/2020\/20-444","view_count":0,"docket_number":"20-444","additional_docket_numbers":null,"manner_of_jurisdiction":"Writ of \u003Ci\u003Ecertiorari\u003C\/i\u003E","first_party":"United States","second_party":"Michael Andrew Gary","timeline":[{"event":"Granted","dates":[1610085600],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/54828"},{"event":"Argued","dates":[1618894800],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/54890"},{"event":"Decided","dates":[1623646800],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/54929"}],"lower_court":{"ID":9,"name":"United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/taxonomy\/term\/9"},"facts_of_the_case":"\u003Cp\u003EIn 2017, Michael Andrew Gary was driving with his cousin when police pulled them over for running a red light. Gary admitted he was driving on a suspended license, so he was placed under arrest. Upon a search of his car, police found a loaded gun. He was charged under state law with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Five months later, Gary had another encounter with police, and upon consenting to a search, police found him in possession of a stolen firearm which Gary admitted was his. Gary was arrested and charged under state law with possession of a stolen firearm.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA federal grand jury indicted Gary on two counts of possessing a firearm as a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. \u00a7\u00a7 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). The state charges were dropped, and Gary pleaded guilty to the two federal charges. The district court advised Gary that if he proceeded to trial, the government would have to prove four elements, but did not mention that the government would also need to prove Gary was aware that he was a felon. Gary agreed with the prosecutor\u2019s summary of the facts and entered a guilty plea.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGary then appealed his sentence but did not challenge the conviction itself. While the appeal was pending, in 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Rehaif v. United States, holding that when a person is charged with possessing a gun while prohibited from doing so under 18 U.S.C. \u00a7 922, the prosecution must prove both that the accused knew that they possessed a gun and that they knew they held the relevant status. Gary then submitted a letter raising the relevance of the Rehaif decision. After receiving supplemental briefings from the parties on the relevance of Rehaif, the court of appeals vacated Gary\u2019s convictions and remanded to the district court. Because Gary had not challenged the validity of his plea in the district court, the court of appeals reviewed the lower court\u2019s decision for plain error. The court found not only that the error was plain, but also that it was structural and thus necessarily affected the outcome of the proceedings, even without a showing of as much.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","question":"\u003Cp\u003EIs a defendant who pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) and 924(a), automatically entitled to plain-error relief if the district court did not advise him that one element of that offense is knowledge of his status as a felon, regardless of whether he can show that the district court\u2019s error affected the outcome of the proceedings?\u003C\/p\u003E\n","conclusion":"\u003Cp\u003EA federal appellate court reviewing the decision of a lower court for plain error may review matters outside the trial record to determine whether the error affected a defendant\u2019s substantial rights, and an error under Rehaif v. United States, is not a basis for plain-error relief unless the defendant first makes a sufficient argument or representation on appeal that he would have presented evidence at trial that he did not in fact know he was a felon. Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion in the consolidated case, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.oyez.org\/cases\/2020\/19-8709\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EGreer v. United States\u003C\/em\u003E, No. 19-8709\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","advocates":[{"advocate":{"ID":62960,"name":"Jonathan Y. Ellis","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/jonathan_ellis","view_count":0,"last_name":"Ellis","roles":null,"thumbnail":null,"length_of_service":0,"identifier":"jonathan_ellis"},"advocate_description":"For the Petitioner","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_advocate\/case_advocate\/23029"},{"advocate":{"ID":30283,"name":"Jeffrey L. 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