## Facts

- Jefferson Wayne Schrader was convicted in Maryland state court of common-law misdemeanor assault and battery arising from a 1968 barroom fight.
- The common-law misdemeanor had no statutory maximum term of imprisonment; Schrader served no jail time.
- Federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), bars firearm possession by persons convicted of a “crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.”
- 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20)(B) excludes certain state misdemeanors “punishable by a term of imprisonment of two years or less.”
- Federal authorities treated Schrader’s decades-old conviction as triggering a lifetime federal firearms disability.
- Although 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) provides a process to seek restoration of firearms rights, Congress had barred funding to process such applications, making that relief unavailable in practice.
- Schrader and the Second Amendment Foundation sought declaratory and injunctive relief challenging the statutory application and raising a Second Amendment claim; the district court dismissed, and they appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether a state common-law misdemeanor classified as a misdemeanor but lacking a statutory maximum is excluded from § 922(g)(1) by § 921(a)(20)(B)’s “two years or less” misdemeanor carveout.
2. Whether applying § 922(g)(1)’s lifetime firearm prohibition to persons convicted of such common-law misdemeanors violates the Second Amendment (facially or as applied).

## Decision

- The D.C. Circuit affirmed dismissal of the complaint.
- The court held § 922(g)(1) applies to common-law misdemeanors that are, in principle, punishable by more than one year of imprisonment, notwithstanding the misdemeanor label and the actual sentence imposed.
- The court held § 921(a)(20)(B) does not exclude common-law misdemeanors with no statutory maximum because they are not “punishable by” two years or less.
- The court rejected the Second Amendment challenge, finding no constitutional defect in applying § 922(g)(1) to common-law misdemeanants.

## Legal Principles

- For § 922(g)(1), “punishable by” refers to the maximum potential punishment authorized for the offense, not the punishment actually imposed.
- A state misdemeanor is excluded by § 921(a)(20)(B) only if the offense is punishable by a term of imprisonment of two years or less; a common-law offense with no statutory ceiling does not satisfy that limitation.
- Congress may define the disqualifying class functionally by reference to potential punishment rather than by state felony/misdemeanor labels.
- Post-Heller, firearm prohibitions on persons convicted of sufficiently serious offenses may be upheld as consistent with the Second Amendment; § 922(g)(1) may constitutionally apply beyond offenses formally labeled “felonies.”
- The practical unavailability of § 925(c) relief due to congressional appropriations restrictions does not authorize courts to rewrite § 922(g)(1) or create extra-statutory exceptions.

## Conclusion

The D.C. Circuit held that a Maryland common-law misdemeanor with no statutory maximum can qualify as a “crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year” under § 922(g)(1), is not exempted by § 921(a)(20)(B), and may constitutionally support a lifetime federal firearm possession ban under the Second Amendment.


Schrader v. Holder, 704 F.3d 980 (D.C. Cir. 2013)