United States v. Fred Nobriga

Fred Nobriga appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to dismiss the indictment. The indictment charged him with violating 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) by possessing a firearm after having been previously convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence,” as defined by 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33)(A)(ii). We reverse the district court’s denial of Nobriga’s motion to dismiss.

I

Nobriga was indicted in 2003 by a federal grand jury in Hawaii for being a person previously convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” in possession of a fire-arm. Section 921 (a)(33)(A)(ii) defines that…