United States v. Hemani
608 U. S. 772 (2026) · 6/18/26
Prosecution of Ali Hemani under 18 U. S. C. §922(g)(3)—for knowingly possessing a gun in his home while being an unlawful user of a controlled substance—is inconsistent with the Second Amendment.
Edition: preliminary print (page proof)
Voices: Syllabus — prepared by the Reporter of Decisions · Justice Gorsuch delivered the opinion of the Court. · Justice Thomas, concurring. · Justice Jackson, with whom Justice Sotomayor joins, concurring.
Ali Hemani is a dual citizen of the United States and Pakistan who was born in Texas. He has spent most of his life living in the Dallas area with his parents and working a stable job. Suspecting Mr. Hemani and his family members of terrorism-related activities, the government conducted a search of the family home in 2022. Throughout the process, Mr. Hemani proved cooperative: he surrendered a gun he kept in the house, pointed agents to some marijuana on the property, and consented to an interview during which he told law enforcement agents that he used marijuana about every other day. More…
Held: The government's prosecution of Mr. Hemani under § 922(g)(3)'s unlawful user provision is inconsistent with the Second Amendment. Pp. 779–795. (a) The Second Amendment protects the right of “all Americans” to keep and bear frearms for self-defense, District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U. S. 570, 581, though like most individual rights it has its limits, id., at 626. To determine when the government infringes the Second Amendment, the Court begins by asking whether the Amendment's terms cover the conduct in question; if so, the Constitution “presumptively” protects it. New York State Rife…Read it in the reading room ›