## Facts

- In 1991, Darcey Frederick was charged in Illinois with domestic battery based on allegations that he assaulted a woman with whom he had a domestic relationship.
- Pursuant to a plea bargain, the domestic-battery charge was amended to battery, and Frederick pleaded guilty to battery.
- In 2011, Frederick applied for a Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card under the Illinois Firearm Owners Identification Act (FOID Act).
- At that time, the FOID Act authorized the Illinois Department of State Police (Department) to deny or revoke a FOID card if the applicant or cardholder was prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law.
- The FOID Act also contained an exception that gave the Department discretion to issue a FOID card despite a federal prohibition if specified conditions were satisfied (including that the applicant had not been convicted of a felony within the prior 20 years, was unlikely to endanger public safety, and that issuance would not be contrary to the public interest).
- The federal Gun Control Act, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), prohibits firearm possession by a person convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.”
- Even though Frederick’s 1991 battery conviction arose from a domestic relationship and could implicate the federal domestic-violence prohibition, the Department exercised its then-existing discretion and issued Frederick a FOID card in 2011.
- In 2012, the Illinois legislature amended the FOID Act to remove the Department’s discretion to issue a FOID card to persons prohibited under federal law, providing that a federally prohibited person may not be issued a FOID card under any circumstances.
- In 2013, after the 2012 amendments, the Department revoked Frederick’s FOID card.
- Frederick filed a petition in the circuit court seeking relief and issuance/restoration of his FOID card, arguing that he had not been convicted of “domestic battery,” but only “battery.”
- The Department argued that the circuit court lacked authority to grant the requested relief and that Frederick’s battery conviction qualified as a federal misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
- The circuit court found it had jurisdiction and granted Frederick relief on the ground that the 2012 amendments did not apply to him because he had obtained his FOID card before the amendments took effect.
- The circuit court denied the Department’s motion to reconsider, and the Department appealed.

## Issues

1. After the 2012 amendments to the FOID Act, did the circuit court have statutory authority to order issuance/restoration of a FOID card to a person who is prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law?
2. Did the circuit court err by treating the 2012 FOID Act amendments as inapplicable to Frederick because he had been issued a FOID card before the amendments’ effective date?
3. Does a misdemeanor battery conviction arising from conduct against a domestic partner qualify as a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” for purposes of the federal firearm prohibition in 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), even if the conviction is labeled “battery” rather than “domestic battery” under state law?

## Decision

- The Appellate Court of Illinois, Second District, reversed the circuit court’s order granting Frederick relief.
- The appellate court held that, under the FOID Act as amended in 2012, Illinois courts and the Department lack authority to issue or maintain a FOID card for an individual who is prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law.
- The appellate court rejected the circuit court’s reasoning that the 2012 amendments did not apply to Frederick merely because he had obtained a FOID card before the amendments became effective.
- Applying the amended statute, the appellate court concluded the Department’s revocation could not be overridden by a circuit-court order if Frederick fell within the federal firearm prohibition tied to misdemeanor domestic-violence convictions.

## Legal Principles

- The FOID Act’s remedies and the circuit court’s power to order issuance or restoration of a FOID card are statutory; courts may not order relief that the current statute forbids.
- After the 2012 FOID Act amendments, a person prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law may not be issued a FOID card under any circumstances, eliminating the former discretionary exception.
- Federal law (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9)) bars firearm possession by persons convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence,” and the federal definition focuses on whether the offense involved qualifying force and a qualifying domestic relationship, not solely on the state-law title of the offense.
- A state agency’s prior lawful exercise of discretion under an earlier version of the FOID Act does not prevent later revocation when statutory amendments impose a categorical bar tied to federal firearms disabilities.

## Conclusion

People v. Frederick, 40 N.E.3d 63 (Ill. App. Ct. 2015), held that after Illinois amended the FOID Act in 2012 to categorically bar FOID issuance to anyone prohibited under federal law, a circuit court could not order restoration of a FOID card to Frederick based on the fact that he previously received one under the former discretionary scheme, and the appellate court reversed the circuit court’s grant of relief.


People v. Frederick, 40 N.E.3d 63 (2015)