## Facts

- In 1961, George Calvin Lewis, Jr. pleaded guilty in Florida to a felony breaking-and-entering offense; the conviction was allegedly uncounseled and predated *Gideon v. Wainwright*.
- Lewis did not obtain vacatur, reversal, pardon, or other relief removing the legal effect of the 1961 conviction.
- In January 1977, Lewis was arrested in Virginia and federally charged with possessing a firearm as a convicted felon under 18 U.S.C. App. § 1202(a)(1).
- At a federal bench trial, Lewis argued the 1961 conviction was unconstitutional under *Gideon* and therefore could not serve as the predicate felony.
- The district court refused to permit a collateral attack on the state conviction within the firearms prosecution and convicted Lewis.
- The Fourth Circuit affirmed, concluding § 1202(a)(1) turned on the existence of a felony conviction, not its validity in the firearms case.

## Issues

1. Whether, in a prosecution under 18 U.S.C. App. § 1202(a)(1), a defendant may collaterally attack the predicate felony conviction as unconstitutional (including as allegedly uncounseled under *Gideon*).
2. Whether applying § 1202(a)(1) to a person whose predicate conviction is allegedly invalid violates the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, including equal protection principles.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court affirmed in a 6–3 decision.
- The Court held that § 1202(a)(1) applies based on the fact that the defendant “has been convicted” of a felony; an unvacated conviction may serve as the predicate even if subject to later collateral attack.
- The Court held the firearms disability remains until the conviction is vacated or the disability is removed by affirmative action (e.g., pardon or authorized administrative relief).
- The Court rejected the Fifth Amendment challenge, concluding Congress could rationally bar firearm possession by persons with felony records pending relief.
- The Court distinguished precedents limiting the use of uncounseled convictions for guilt, sentencing enhancement, or impeachment, treating § 1202(a)(1) as imposing a status-based firearms disability enforced by criminal sanction.

## Legal Principles

- Under 18 U.S.C. App. § 1202(a)(1), the operative element is the existence of a felony conviction on the record; the statute does not authorize relitigation of the predicate conviction’s validity within the firearms prosecution.
- A defendant may not use a collateral attack on the predicate felony conviction as a defense to a § 1202(a)(1) charge unless the conviction has been set aside or the firearms disability has been removed through available legal mechanisms.
- The Fifth Amendment permits Congress, under rational basis review, to treat persons with felony records as disqualified from firearm possession until their status is cleared through vacatur, pardon, or authorized relief.
- Limits on using uncounseled convictions in later proceedings (e.g., to prove guilt, enhance punishment, or impeach) do not bar Congress from attaching a firearms disability to the fact of an outstanding felony conviction.

## Conclusion

An outstanding felony conviction triggers the federal felon-in-possession prohibition even if the defendant claims the conviction was unconstitutional, and the defendant must first obtain vacatur or other relief removing the disability before lawfully possessing a firearm.


Lewis v. United States, 445 U.S. 55 (1980)