UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Steven Paul GOMEZ, Defendant-Appellant

ORDER

The opinion in this case is amended by adding the following two concurrences. Except as noted above, the petition for rehearing is DENIED.

OPINION

This case gives fresh meaning to the phrase, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help you.”

I

The facts alleged by the defendant, Steven Paul Gomez, are troubling. 1 In late February or early March of 1992, Gomez was being held in the Sacramento County Jail on state-law charges when he learned from his attorney that he had been acquitted. After Gomez told his fellow inmates the good news, one of them asked whether this meant he would be released. Gomez said yes, and the other inmate, a man by the name of Imran Mir, offered him a job. Mir was charged with participating in an international drug conspiracy and wanted Gomez to kill six witnesses who were going to testify against him. 2 Mir offered Gomez $10,000 or half a kilogram of heroin for each witness he managed to knock off.

Gomez promptly reported Mir’s offer to the jail guards. He did so out of a sense of moral obligation, expecting no reward. The customs agent who had been working on Mir’s drug case was notified and eventually got in touch with Gomez. After the…

concurring:

I concur in Judge Kozinski’s opinion, with the exception of footnote 7, which I do not join because it directly conflicts with our holding in Hickman v. Block, 81 F.3d 98,101 *779 (9th Cir.1996) (holding that “the Second Amendment is a right held by the states, and does not protect the possession of a weapon by a private citizen”).

concurring:

I concur in all of Judge Kozinski’s excellent opinion save for footnote 7, which alludes to an interesting and difficult question I would leave for another day.

92 F.3d 770 96 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 5513 , 96 Daily Journal D.A.R. 9019 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Steven Paul GOMEZ, Defendant-Appellant. No. 94-10520. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Sept. 12, 1995. Decided April 11, 1996. As Amended on Denial of Rehearing July 26, 1996. Robert M. Holley, Sacramento, California, for defendant-appellant Steven Paul Gomez. Nancy L. Simpson, Assistant United States Attorney, Sacramento, California, for plaintiff-appellee United States of America. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California; David F. Levi, District Judge, Presiding. ORDER The opinion in this case is amended by adding the following two concurrences. Except as noted above, the petition for rehearing is DENIED. Before: HALL, KOZINSKI and HAWKINS, Circuit Judges. OPINION KOZINSKI, Circuit Judge. 1 This case gives fresh meaning to the phrase, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you." 2 * The facts alleged by the defendant, Steven Paul Gomez, are troubling. 1 In late February or early March of 1992, Gomez was being held in the Sacramento County Jail on state-law charges when he…