Opinion
3:19-CV-500-CWR-FKB
11-19-2021
RICHARD PORTER PETITIONER v. CHERON Y. NASH RESPONDENT
ORDER
CARLTON W. REEVES UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Before the Court are the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation (R&R), Docket No. 25, and petitioner Richard Porter's objection to that R&R, Docket No. 26.
Porter presents an interesting argument: whether receiving Louisiana's first-offender pardon rendered him eligible to lawfully possess a firearm, making his subsequent federal felon-inpossession conviction invalid under Rehaif v. United States, 139 S.Ct. 2191 (2019). See also United States v. Viola, 768 Fed.Appx. 238 (5th Cir. 2019). Because the Court thinks that the answer to this question is, on this record, “no, ” it adopts the R&R and dismisses this petition.
There are at least two potential problems with accepting Porter's premise. First, the PSR shows that Porter did not satisfactorily complete the terms of Louisiana Constitution article I, § 20 and the first-offender pardon, in that his parole was revoked. See Docket No. 13-2 at 4. Second, even assuming that the Louisiana Division of Probation and Parole's certificate fully restored Porter's rights after his armed robbery convictions, see Docket No. 26 at 8, he does not then contend that the state government restored his rights again after his next felony conviction-this time for drug possession. See Docket No. 13-2 at 4. The better view of the record is that, at least by then, there could be no doubt that Porter's rights were not fully restored.
For these reasons, the R&R is adopted and this petition is dismissed.
SO ORDERED.