US Supreme Court to review gun law used to convict Hunter Biden
The former first son was convicted last summer of illegally owning a gun while hooked on drugs — but he received a pardon from his father, former President Joe Biden, before he left office. BACKGRID
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the constitutionality of the federal gun law that led to Hunter Biden’s conviction.
Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, was convicted last summer for illegally owning a firearm while addicted to drugs. Before leaving office, Joe Biden issued a pardon to his son, wiping out the conviction and a separate tax case.
Now, the Supreme Court will hear a similar case involving a Texas man, Ali Hemani, who was charged under the same statute for possessing a pistol that police found alongside drugs during a 2022 search of his home. The central question before the Court is whether this law violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Although the Trump Administration has consistently supported gun rights, it has urged the Supreme Court to reinstate the Hemani case and to rule that individuals who are regular drug users or addicts should not be permitted to own firearms — even if they were not under the influence at the time, according to a report from Politico.
Earlier, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Hemani’s case, ruling that because he was not intoxicated when the gun was discovered — despite admitting to regular marijuana use — the law’s application violated his Second Amendment rights.
Hunter Biden’s conviction stemmed from a 2018 gun purchase in which he falsely claimed on a federal form that he was not using controlled substances. He later acknowledged in his 2021 memoir that he was addicted to crack cocaine at the time.
Joe Biden’s December 2024 pardon shielded his son from further prosecution for any alleged crimes committed between January 1, 2014, and December 12, 2024.
The Supreme Court’s decision to review this issue provides an opportunity to clarify a complex area of firearm law that has divided lower courts since the landmark 2022 Supreme Court ruling on New York’s gun regulations, which instructed judges to evaluate gun laws in light of historical precedent from the 18th and 19th centuries.
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