South Carolina Lawyers Weekly

Jun 18, 2026

SCOTUS News: Justices uphold gun rights of marijuana users

The government violated the Second Amendment rights of a man who regularly used marijuana by prosecuting him under a federal law prohibiting the possession of a gun in the home […]

Aug 5, 2025

Soulja Boy arrested on gun charge after LA traffic stop

Soulja Boy was arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of being a felon with a firearm during a Sunday traffic stop, LAPD officials say.

Feb 13, 2025

4th Circuit: Appeal waiver forecloses challenge to sentence

South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Staff Where a man argued the District Court erred when it sentenced him as an armed career criminal, his appeal was barred by the appeal waiver […]

Aug 17, 2015

Criminal Practice – Search & Seizure – Search Warrant Affidavit – Old & New Information – Firearm Possession

State v. Thompson (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-079-15, 19 pp.) (Thomas Huff, J.) (John Few, C.J., dissenting) Appealed from Spartanburg County Circuit Court (J. Derham Cole, J.) S.C. App. Holding: In […]

Nov 6, 2014

Criminal Practice — Gun-Sale Talk Leads to Extra Sentence

U.S. v. Pineda (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-182-14, 19 pp.) (Niemeyer, J.) No. 13-4555, Oct. 29, 2014; USDC at Wilmington, N.C. (Boyle, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: The 4th Circuit upholds multiple […]

Jun 20, 2014

Criminal Practice – B&E Convictions Count for ACCA Status

U.S. v. Mungro (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-01-0583, 12 pp.) (Duncan, J.) No. 13-4503, June 11, 2014; USDC at Charlotte, N.C. (Whitney, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: The 4th Circuit affirms a […]

Aug 15, 2012

Criminal Practice – Firearm Possession – Personal Right of Self-Defense — ‘Home Possession’ – Insufficient Showing of Residence

U.S. v. Smoot A defendant cannot claim a personal right of self-defense under D.C. v. Heller to a weapons charge, as he did not prove that he lived at the address where he was arrested in the backyard; the 4th Circuit also rejects defendant’s challenge to the jury instruction on the interstate commerce element of the gun charge.

Nov 2, 2011

Criminal Practice – Sentencing – Firearm Possession – Prior Assault Conviction

U.S. v. Donell In sentencing defendant for possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, a district court could not use an unincorporated “statement of probable cause” to establish a prior assault conviction as a “crime of violence” in order to enhance defendant’s firearm sentence, and the 4th Circuit vacates the 78-month sentence and remands for resentencing.

Jan 6, 2011

Criminal Practice – Firearm Possession – Misdemeanor Domestic Violence – Gun Rights

U.S. v. Chester. (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-001-11, 35 pp.) (Traxler, J.) No. 09-4084, Dec. 30, 2010; USDC at Charleston, W.Va. (Copenhaver, J.) 4th Cir. Click here for the full text […]