“Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears” is a blog series documenting the harmful impact of President Trump’s judges on Americans’ rights and liberties. It includes judges nominated in both his first and second terms.
Judge David Stras, who was nominated by Donald Trump to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, joined by Trump judges Steven Grasz and Jonathan Kobes, ruled unanimously that despite federal law, at least some people convicted of illegal drug use can possess firearms. The February 2025 decision was in US v Cooper.
What happened in this case?
LaVance Cooper was prosecuted for possessing a Glock 20 pistol even though he was an “unlawful user’ of drugs, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3). He claimed the law violated the Second Amendment. Based on the federal law and on consistent district court precedent , District Judge CJ Williams, who was nominated by President Trump, rejected the challenge and upheld Cooper’s conviction. Cooper appealed to the Eighth Circuit.
Trump judges Stras, Grasz, and Kobes issued a unanimous ruling that reversed the district court and ruled that depending on the facts, the federal law “sometimes” violates the Second Amendment. They claimed that the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision overturning a New York gun law warranted this result. According to the majority, Cooper’s conviction can only be upheld if the government can prove that he posed a “credible threat to the physical safety of others.” They maintained that “[n]othing in our tradition allows disarmament simply because Cooper belongs to a category of people, drug users, that Congress has categorically deemed dangerous.”
Why is this decision by Trump judges Stras, Kobes and Grasz harmful?
This is yet another ruling by conservative judges that harms protections for gun safety. [We usually have a sentence about impact, particularly for states covered by this decision, can we add?] The decision illustrates the importance of our federal courts to health, welfare and justice and the significance of having fair-minded judges on the federal bench.