Case: United States v. Edward Cockerham, No. 25-1029
Lower Court: Fifth Circuit
Docketed: 2026-02-27
Status: Pending
Question Presented: Whether 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), the federal statute that prohibits the possession of a firearm by a person who has been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, violates the Second Amendment as applied to respondent.
On February 27, 2026, Solicitor General D. John Sauer filed a petition for certiorari asking the Court to address whether the federal felon-in-possession statute, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), violates the Second Amendment as applied to Edward Cockerham. The respondent’s response deadline is set for March 30, 2026.
The legal question is narrow on its face but carries significant weight. As-applied challenges to § 922(g)(1) have multiplied across the circuits, and the petition signals that the government views Supreme Court intervention as warranted.
Whether the Court grants certiorari will depend partly on how it reads the circuit landscape. The case offers the Court an opportunity to clarify how Second Amendment doctrine applies to categorical firearm prohibitions targeting convicted felons. Practitioners and lower courts will be watching the response deadline closely.