|
PRINT
THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE
Tuesday, October 8, 2002
San Angelo man convicted of criminal charges in Second Amendment case
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - A former San Angelo doctor who challenged a federal law in a Second
Amendment case was convicted Monday of firearm possession charges.
A federal jury convicted Timothy Emerson of three counts of possessing a firearm. He was charged in
1998 after buying a pistol while under a restraining order during a divorce proceeding.
U.S. District Judge Sam Cummings originally dismissed the charge against Emerson, ruling that the
federal statute used to charge Emerson violated his Second Amendment right to bear arms.
But the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the judge's ruling in October 2001.
The 5th Circuit ruled that an individual has a right to bear arms -- a victory for gun rights advocates --
but that the right could be restricted under some circumstances.
The case went back to the district court after the Supreme Court in June said it would not hear the
case and a similar gun-rights case.
During testimony, defense attorney David Guinn said his client was not a felon for owning guns that
were legal once his divorce was completed.
"You jurors are the only ones who stand between the government and whatever they want to do
whenever they want," he said in a story in Monday night's online edition of the Lubbock Avalanche
Journal. "And that's what these kinds of laws do. Everything that the government says isn't always
best for us and isn't always what is right."
A sentencing date was not announced. Emerson faces a maximum of five years in prison and a
$250,000 fine, prosecutors said.
Send
the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend:
|
