United States v. Sarraj
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
665 F.3d 916 (2012)
Khalil Sarraj (defendant), a felon who wanted guns to protect himself from former associates, was targeted in an ATF reverse sting in which undercover agents deliberately sold him two prop guns they knew had been manufactured outside Illinois, satisfying the interstate-commerce element of federal felon-in-possession law and thereby federalizing the offense. Sarraj pleaded guilty but reserved the right to challenge the agents' tactics, and he appealed after his plea.
Whether the interstate-commerce element of a federal felon-in-possession offense is satisfied where law enforcement deliberately selected an out-of-state firearm for a sting operation, without the defendant knowing or caring about the gun's origin.