Seventh Circuit Criminal Case of the Week: The Limits of Constructive Possession
The Seventh Circuit had only one new opinion in a criminal case last week, but, fortunately, it was an interesting one. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), it is a federal crime for felons to possess a firearm. Proof of the crime is easy enough when a felon is found actually carrying a gun. But what if the gun is nowhere on his person, but merely, say, in his home?
In practice, the federal courts have interpreted the law expansively so as to encompass a broad range of circumstances beyond actual possession. Thus, under the doctrine of “constructive possession,” a felon may indeed be convicted based on the discovery of a firearm in his home.
But, as the Seventh Circuit made clear last week in United States v. Katz (No. 08-2341), even the doctrine of constructive possession has its limits.