UNITED STATES v. MILLER

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Case Basics
Docket No. 
696
Appellant 
United States
Appellee 
Jack Miller and Frank Layton
Decided By 
Hughes Court (1938-1939)
Opinion 
307 U.S. 174 (1939)
Argued 
Thursday, March 30, 1939
Decided 
Monday, May 15, 1939
Advocates
Gordon Dean
(argued the cause for the United States)
Tags
Term:
Location: 36.188137, -94.540496
Facts of the Case 

An Arkansas federal district court charged Jack Miller and Frank Layton with violating the National Firearms Act ("NFA") when they transported a double barrel 12-gauge shotgun in interstate commerce. In part, Miller and Layton argued that the NFA violated their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. The district court agreed and dismissed the case.

Question 

Does the Second Amendment protect an individual's right to keep and bear arms?

Conclusion 

No. The Supreme Court reversed the district court, holding that the Second Amendment does not guarantee an individual the right to keep and bear a sawed- off double barrel shotgun. With Justice James Clark McReynolds writing for the majority, the Court reasoned that because the possession of a sawed-off double barrel shotgun does not have a reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia, the Second Amendment does not protect the possession of such an instrument.

Cite this Page
UNITED STATES v. MILLER. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 23 May 2013. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1938/1938_696>.
UNITED STATES v. MILLER, The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1938/1938_696 (last visited May 23, 2013).
"UNITED STATES v. MILLER," The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, accessed May 23, 2013, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1938/1938_696.