Gun restrictions on defendants awaiting trial are constitutional, U.S. appeals court rules

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that criminal defendants can be stripped of their right to handle firearms, affirming a lower court ruling and dealing a blow to gun rights advocates.

The 9th Circuit decision sided against two defendants who claimed that the government could not take away their firearms before they could be convicted of a crime.

A three-judge panel disagreed, finding the restrictions “consistent with how courts have long balanced the constitutional rights of pretrial detainees and releasees with legitimate public safety and logistical considerations, and is consistent with our nation’s long history of temporarily disarming criminal defendants facing serious charges and those deemed dangerous or unwilling to follow the law,” Judge Gabriel Sanchez wrote in the opinion.

The two defendants both face serious criminal charges and brought suits separately. John Fencl was arrested for illegal weapons possession after a police raid on his home found over 110 guns, including 10 “ghost guns,” alongside illegal ammunition. Jesus Perez-Garcia was arrested during a customs inspection as the passenger of a car stuffed with 11 kilograms of methamphetamine and half a kilogram of heroin, according to court documents.

The men challenged the restrictions using a new standard established by the 2022 Supreme Court case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which requires gun control legislation to be “consistent” with historical principles of gun regulation.

That standard has since struck down multiple gun control laws nationwide, with gun rights advocates holding it up as a landmark case for their cause.

But Sanchez, a Biden appointee, found that for defendants that are reasonably found to be dangerous, like Fencl and Perez-Garcia, taking away firearms is allowed. 

“We conclude that the Government has met its burden of showing that Appellants’ temporary disarmament is consistent with our nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation,” Sanchez wrote.

Since the case was filed, Fencl was convicted at trial in October on gun-related charges, and the bond for Perez-Garcia was revoked after he missed several hearings in his drug-related case.