Criminal Law Keyed to Dressler
Staples v. United States
ProfessorScott Caron
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
The AR-15 rifle that was taken by Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms agents had been modified to include several M-16 parts. The inclusion of the M-16 parts allowed the firearm in question to become interchangeable between semi-automatic, as was its intended use and automatic. The Petitioner testified that the firearm had never been operated automatically while in his possession. Further, the Petitioner testified that his ignorance of any automatic firing capability should have shielded him from criminal liability for failure to register the weapon. The District Court rejected the Petitioner’s proposed jury instruction to that effect and the Petitioner was subsequently sentenced to five years’ probation and a $5,000 fine. The Court of Appeals affirmed that decision. Furthermore, the statute at issue in this case is silent as to the mens rea required for a violation.
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