Haynes v. United States
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| Haynes v. United States | ||||||||||
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| Argued October 11, 1967 Decided January 29, 1968 |
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Haynes v. United States, 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."
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[edit] 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.
[edit] The Court's decision
In an 8-1 decision, the Court ruled in favor of Haynes.
[edit] Significance
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.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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