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United States v. Alderman

Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (2009) | 565 F.3d 641; 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 10934; 2009 WL 1298056

3 min read

TL;DR: A felon challenged a federal law banning his possession of body armor. The court upheld the law, finding the requirement that the armor was previously sold in interstate commerce provided a sufficient constitutional link to Congress's Commerce Clause power.

Legal Significance: This case affirms the continued viability of *Scarborough v. United States*, holding that a minimal jurisdictional nexus—an item's prior travel in interstate commerce—is sufficient to sustain a federal criminal possession statute against a Commerce Clause challenge, even after *Lopez* and *Morrison*.

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