COA Opinion: Second Amendment precludes prosecution for constructive, in-home possession of firearm by a person under the influence of alcohol
In People v. Deroche, the Michigan Court of Appeals held that a prosecution for constructive possession of a firearm in the defendant’s home while under the influence of alcohol violated the defendant’s Second Amendment rights. Novi officers went to the defendant’s home based on two separate disturbances on the same evening. The officers learned that a gun was located in the defendant’s home, although the defendant’s mother-in-law had hidden the weapon from him by the time they arrived. The court affirmed dismissal of the charge for possession of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol in violation of MCL 750.237. The court reasoned that the statute was unconstitutional as applied to prosecution under a theory of constructive possession inside the defendant’s own home—behavior that the court held was protected by the Second Amendment.
