Haynes v. United States

SCOTUSCase
Litigants=Haynes v. United States
ArgueDate=October 11
ArgueYear=1967
DecideDate=January 29
DecideYear=1968
FullName=Miles Edward Haynes v. United States
USVol=390
USPage=85
Citation=88 S.Ct. 722; 19 L.Ed.2d 923
Prior=
Subsequent=
Holding=Haynes' conviction under 5851 for possession of an unregistered firearm is not properly distinguishable from a conviction under 5841 for failure to register possession of a firearm, and both offenses must be deemed subject to any constitutional deficiencies arising under the Fifth Amendment from the obligation to register.
SCOTUS=1967-1969
Majority=Harlan
JoinMajority=
Dissent=
Dissent2=
NotParticipating=Marshall
LawsApplied=

"Haynes v. United States", 390 U.S. 85 (1968), was a United States Supreme Court decision interpreting the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states that "No person...shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself."

Background of the case

The National Firearms Act of 1934 required the registration of certain types of firearms.

Miles Edward Haynes was a convicted felon who was charged with failing to register a firearm under the above mentioned act. Haynes, however, argued that because he was a convicted felon, and thus prohibited from owning a firearm, requiring him to register was essentially requiring him to make an open admission to the government that he was in violation of the law, which was thus a violation of his right not to incriminate himself.

The Court's decision

In an 8-1 decision, the Court ruled in favor of Haynes.

ignificance

Since the decision effectively exempts felons (and, by extrapolation, all other prohibited possessors) from any gun registration scheme, it is often cited in the American gun politics debate.

ee also

*List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 390
*"United States v. Freed", ussc|401|601|1971

Further reading

*cite journal |last=Young |first=D. A. |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1971 |month= |title=Self-Incrimination under "Haynes v. United States", as Affected by the 1968 Amendment to the National Firearms Act, and "United States v. Freed" |journal=Baylor Law Review |volume=23 |issue= |pages=535 |issn=00057274 |url= |accessdate= |quote=

External links

* [http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/user/wbardwel/public/nfalist/haynes_v_us.txt]