Petitioner was convicted under 26 U.S.C. §§ 5861(d) and 5871, sections of the National Firearms Act that impose criminal penalties of up to 10 years' imprisonment for receiving or possessing a firearm suppressor not registered by the transferor of the suppressor. As the transferee, Petitioner was not responsible for paying the $200 required to register the suppressor. The constitutional foundation justifying the federal criminalization of Petitioner's conduct is Congress's power to tax under Article I, section 8, of the Constitution. The important federal question presented is:

Whether federal criminal punishment of the receipt and possession of unregistered suppressors under 26 U.S.C. §§ 5861(d) and 5871 exceeds Congress's power to tax under Article I, section 8, of the Constitution and violates the Tenth Amendment.

Whether federal criminal punishment of the receipt and possession of unregistered suppressors under 26 U.S.C. §§ 5861(d) and 5871 exceeds Congress's power to tax under Article I, section 8, of the Constitution and violates the Tenth Amendment