United States v. Rahimi became a widely followed case in the 2024 Supreme Court docket after the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (covering Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi) issued its decision in United States v. Rahimi, 59 F.4th 163 (5th Cir. 2023). The Court ruled that 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), which prohibits gun possession by people who are subject to domestic violence restraining orders, is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. 

This decision reverberated across the country, and in the wake of the Fifth Circuit decision, the Supreme Court took a writ of Certiorari to resolve the conflict. Ultimately, on June 21, 2024, the Supreme Court overturned the Fifth Circuit and upheld the constitutionality of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8). This Strategies in Brief newsletter unpacks the holding of the Supreme Court, and provides guidance to prosecutors moving forward on applying this ruling to their work. 

This project was supported by Grant No. 15JOVW-22-GK-03987-MUMU awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.RahimiDecision_FINAL