United States v. Harry Haddad

Appellant Harry Haddad was convicted of one count of receipt by a felon of a firearm which has been shipped or transported in interstate commerce in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922 (h)(1). On appeal, he contends that Congress did not intend for the statute to reach his conduct, and if it did, then it exceeded its power under the commerce clause. Furthermore, he asserts that the statute is unconstitutionally vague. He also challenges the trial court’s finding that he lacked standing to attack the validity of the search which produced the firearm and that this search deprived him of his Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable searches. We reject appellant’s arguments and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

I.

FACTS.

Appellant was a registered guest at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 27, 1976. That evening, in a manner which remains unclear, he received a pistol from Russell Angione, an investigator for the Clark County Public Defender. This pistol had traveled in interstate commerce from Springfield, Massachusetts to Las Vegas, Nevada, in June of 1971. It is undisputed that in 1970, appellant had been convicted in Connecticut of four counts of blackmail…