8th Circuit upholds felon-in-possession gun law as constitutional and affirms 77-month sentence for Dave Shumpert…
United States v. Dave Shumpert, III
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8th Circuit upholds felon-in-possession gun law as constitutional and affirms 77-month sentence for Dave Shumpert III, finding no Second Amendment violation.
Why it matters
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence of Dave Shumpert III, who was found guilty of illegally possessing a firearm as a felon. The court rejected his argument that the federal felon-in-possession law violates the Second Amendment, relying on its own prior ruling that such a categorical ban is consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation. The court also found his 77-month prison sentence, which fell at the low end of the advisory guidelines range, was not unreasonably harsh.
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- Missouri
- Minnesota
What happens next
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Decision issued Jul 16, 2026
Unpublished opinion
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- Decision issued Jul 16, 2026Unpublished opinion
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Jul 16, 2026 · Unpublished opinion
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Dave Shumpert III was charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm as a convicted felon under federal law (18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(1)). He asked the district court to dismiss the charge, arguing it violated his Second Amendment rights because his prior felony was not a violent crime. The district court denied that motion, Shumpert pleaded guilty while preserving his right to appeal, and the Eighth Circuit took up both the constitutional question and the reasonableness of his sentence. On the Second Amendment question, the appeals court ruled against Shumpert. It pointed to its own recent precedent, United States v. Jackson (2024), which held that the blanket prohibition on firearm possession by felons is consistent with America's historical tradition of gun regulation as required by the Supreme Court's framework from New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022). Because of that binding precedent, the court said there is no need to examine each individual felony conviction separately to decide whether the law is constitutional in a particular case. Shumpert's argument that his non-violent felony background should change the analysis was therefore rejected. On sentencing, Shumpert argued his 77-month sentence was too harsh and that the judge failed to give enough weight to the non-violent nature of his underlying felony. The court disagreed. It noted that the 77-month sentence was actually at the low end of the correctly calculated guidelines range of 77 to 96 months, which included a four-level enhancement because the firearm was possessed in connection with another felony. The court found the sentencing judge had carefully reviewed Shumpert's criminal history, which included 18 criminal history points from eight prior convictions, a prior gun offense, an escape from a reentry center, and evidence that he was selling cocaine and fentanyl around the time of his arrest. Because a sentence within the guidelines range is presumed reasonable and the judge considered all required factors, the court found no abuse of discretion. The opinion was issued as unpublished and was unanimous among the three judges on the panel. Going forward, this decision reinforces the Eighth Circuit's position that individuals challenging the felon-in-possession law on Second Amendment grounds will not succeed by arguing their prior felony was non-violent, at least within that circuit.
CITATION AND RECORD
Record source: CourtListener
United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 25-1575 ___________________________ United States of America, lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee, v. Dave Shumpert, III, lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant. ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Central ____________ Submitted: May 11, 2026 Filed: July 16, 2026 [Unpublished] ____________ Before COLLOTON, Chief Judge, SHEPHERD and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM. A grand jury charged Dave Shumpert, III, with unlawful possession of a firearm as a felon. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(a)(8). The district court* denied Shumpert’s motion to dismiss the indictment based on the Second Amendment. Shumpert entered a conditional plea of guilty, and reserved his right to appeal the denial of the motion. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(a)(2). On appeal, Shumpert argues that § 922(g)(1) violates the Second Amendment as applied to him and that his sentence is substantively unreasonable. Shumpert contends that his conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) is unconstitutional “in the absence of a prior felony conviction for [a] crime of violence.” This contention is foreclosed by circuit precedent. We have held that the categorical prohibition on possession of firearms by felons is “consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.” United States v. Jackson, 110 F.4th 1120, 1126 (8th Cir. 2024) (quoting New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1, 24 (2022)), cert. denied, 145 S. Ct. 2708 (2025). Accordingly,“there is no need for felony-by-felony litigation regarding the constitutionality of § 922(g)(1),” id. at 1125, and the district court properly denied the motion to dismiss. We also conclude that the district court did not impose a substantively unreasonable sentence. This court reviews the reasonableness of a sentence under a deferential abuse-of-discretion standard. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 52 (2007). A sentence within the advisory guideline range is presumed reasonable. United States v. Hoeffener, 950 F.3d 1037, 1046 (8th Cir. 2024). The district court sentenced Shumpert to 77 months’ imprisonment, the low end of the advisory range. Shumpert asserts that his advisory range was 51 to 63 months, * The Honorable Stephanie M. Rose, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. -2- but the record reflects that the court calculated a range of 77 to 96 months’ imprisonment after applying a four-level increase for possession of a firearm in connection with another felony offense. See USSG § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) (Nov. 2024). Shumpert is thus mistaken about the advisory range, but he does not challenge the district court’s application of the adjustment or the calculation of the guideline range. Shumpert argues only that the court improperly weighed his criminal history. While acknowledging that “his criminal history is replete with firearms possession and drug use,” Shumpert maintains that the court “failed to place any emphasis on the nature of his underlying felony conviction for user in possession of a controlled substance and lack of prior felony-level convictions for violence.” The district court, however, considered all of the sentencing factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), and discussed Shumpert’s criminal history in detail. Shumpert scored eighteen criminal history points under the guidelines based on eight prior convictions for various offenses. The court recounted three recent matters. Shumpert was convicted for unlawful possession of a firearm as a drug user after three firearms, including one loaded with an extended magazine, were seized from an apartment where he lived and used drugs. The court cited Shumpert’s conviction for escape from a residential reentry center while completing his sentence for the firearms offense. And the court observed that Shumpert’s most recent offense involved a traffic stop during which a nine-millimeter handgun with a high-capacity 31–round extended magazine was found under his seat. An officer testified that information on Shumpert’s phone revealed that he was selling cocaine and fentanyl in the days leading up to the seizure of the firearm. The sentencing court has wide latitude in weighing the sentencing factors. The court did not abuse its discretion here by rejecting Shumpert’s arguments in mitigation and imposing a sentence within the advisory range. The judgment of the district court is affirmed. ______________________________ -3-
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