The Department of Justice (DOJ) wants the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) to take up new gun cases.
This week, DOJ filed petitions for the Court to take up two cases. One case, United States v. Daniels, deals with whether a marijuana user can be barred from possessing guns. The other, Garland v. Range, deals with whether somebody who lied on an application for food stamps can.
Federal appeals courts ruled the Second Amendment protected both Patrick Darnell Daniels Jr. and Bryan David Range, invalidating their convictions. The DOJ wants the Supreme Court to reverse those lower court decisions and affirm the federal gun laws they called into question are constitutional.
The Supreme Court often gives the federal government deference in deciding which cases to take up, especially when in cases that would potentially settle a circuit split or resolve a situation where federal law is not being equally applied across the entire country. That’s the situation in both cases making them prime candidates for action by the Court. However, neither may result in a standalone case if the DOJ gets its way.