The federal government has committed petitioner James Hill to prison for a term of years based on testimony he briefly possessed a handgun on the front porch of a row home in Philadelphia. At his trial on a charge that this possession violated 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) (1), Mr. Hill protested that such local conduct is not within the scope of Congress's power to "regulate Commerce … among the several States ," nor of any other constitutionally enumerated power. Follo wing Third Circuit precedent construing Scarborough v. United States , 431 U.S. 563 (1977), as binding authority, the district court rejected his challenge.

Whether the federal government may obtain a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922( g)(1) based on the purely local possession of a firearm that has previously crossed state lines .

Whether the federal government may obtain a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) based on the purely local possession of a firearm that has previously crossed state lines