Does a Guilty Plea End Any Constitutional Challenges?
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider in Class v. United States
"[w]hether a guilty plea inherently waives a defendant's
right to challenge the constitutionality of his statute of
conviction." The case involves Rodney Class, who is a retired
veteran residing in North Carolina. Class traveled to Washington,
D.C., in May 2013 and "left his lawfully-owned firearms
secured out-of-sight in bags inside his locked vehicle," which
he parked in a public lot about 1,000 feet from the U.S. Capitol.
Class didn't know the lot was part of the "Capitol
Grounds, where all weapons are prohibited pursuant to 40 U.S.C.
5104(e)." When Class was away from his vehicle, a police
officer saw in the cab of the vehicle what she mistakenly believed
was a gun holster. When Class returned, he was arrested and his
vehicle was searched. The firearms were discovered, and Class was
charged with violating §5104(e). Class raised several
challenges
