United States v. Shadon Edwards

142 F.4th 1270 (2025) Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit 2025-06-27

criminal appeal after unconditional guilty plea to § 922(g)(1) with ACCA sentence; plea-voluntariness, Erlinger and Commerce Clause challenges all reviewed for plain error; affirmed (result: claimant-won)

Facts

  1. 4 Possession in or affecting commerce satisfied conceded
    A search incident to Edwards’s arrest revealed that he had a Glock 43 nine-millimeter semi-automatic pistol, loaded with six rounds of ammunition.
  2. 4 Possession in or affecting commerce satisfied conceded
    We have also rejected as-applied challenges to § 922(g), holding that the government demonstrates the required “minimal nexus” to interstate commerce when it proves that the firearms were manufactured outside the state where the offense took place and, thus, necessarily traveled in interstate commerce.
  3. 4 Possession in or affecting commerce satisfied conceded
    Here, Edwards admitted in his factual proffer that the firearm and ammu- nition that he possessed in Florida were manufactured out of state and had therefore moved in interstate commerce prior to his pos- session of them.
  4. 4 Possession in or affecting commerce satisfied conceded
    The government thus satisfied the minimal-nexus requirement here.