USA v. Hensley
Split Score
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Case Summary
Disposition
Affirmed
The Fifth Circuit affirmed Terry Dee Hensley’s conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The panel declined to enforce Hensley’s appeal waiver, rejected his Commerce Clause argument as conceded, and held that § 922(g)(1) is constitutional as applied to him under the circuit’s felony-specific Bruen analysis, given his prior drug-trafficking conviction.
Circuit Split Identified
Legal Issue
Whether § 922(g)(1) remains constitutional after N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen and, specifically, whether courts must conduct a felony-by-felony historical-tradition analysis or may uphold the statute categorically for all felonies.
Circuit Positions
Felony-by-felony historical-tradition test is required; some felonies may not justify disarmament under Bruen.
Any prior felony categorically justifies disarmament; § 922(g)(1) is facially valid for all felons.
Conflict Summary
The Fifth Circuit employs a felony-specific, historical-tradition test to decide § 922(g)(1) challenges, requiring courts to examine the defendant’s particular predicate offense. The Eighth Circuit—and, according to the concurrence, every other circuit—continues to hold that any prior felony conviction suffices, upholding § 922(g)(1) categorically without a tailored inquiry.