Judge critiques federal government’s reach under commerce clause

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted December 23, 2022 10:17 AM

Dissenting from the denial of Joshua Seekins’s petition for rehearing en banc after a three-judge panel affirmed his conviction for being a felon in possession of ammunition — a federal charge that required proof that two shotgun shells had traveled in interstate commerce — Judge James C. Ho, of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, called for reconsidering precedent that “dramatically expands the reach of the federal government under the commerce clause.”Seekins was homeless in Texas when he was caught with two shotgun …

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