United States v. Celestine
── United States v. Celestine ──
Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Date: May 14, 2026
Category: Direct Criminal
Case: 25-30506 Document: 65-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/14/2026
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit
____________ United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
No. 25-30506 May 14, 2026
Summary Calendar
____________ Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
United States of America,
Plaintiff—Appellee,
versus
Michael Celestine,
Defendant—Appellant.
______________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Louisiana
USDC No. 2:24-CR-92-1
______________________________
Before King, Haynes, and Ho, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam: *
Michael Celestine appeals his conviction for possessing a firearm as a
convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). He contends that the
statute violates the Second Amendment on its face and as applied to him, that
recent interpretations of it in the Second Amendment context have rendered
it unconstitutionally vague, and that it exceeds Congress’s authority under
_____________________
*
This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 25-30506 Document: 65-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/14/2026
No. 25-30506
the Commerce Clause. He is correct that these arguments are foreclosed.
See United States v. Diaz, 116 F.4th 458, 471-72 (5th Cir. 2024), cert. denied,
145 S. Ct. 2822 (2025); United States v. Schnur, 132 F.4th 863, 870-71 (5th
Cir. 2025); United States v. Landrum, 168 F.4th 771, 772-75 (5th Cir. 2026);
United States v. Alcantar, 733 F.3d 143, 145-46 (5th Cir. 2013).
Additionally, Celestine asks us to vacate his conviction because the
case-by-case application of § 922(g)(1) in the Second Amendment context
violates separation of powers principles. We have not previously addressed
this issue, however, and find no clear or obvious error as is necessary to
establish plain error. See United States v. Evans, 587 F.3d 667, 671 (5th Cir.
2009); Puckett v. United States, 556 U.S. 129, 135 (2009).
AFFIRMED.
2
{# E23 (Nick, ruling section 1 answer 10): quoting a bill or a court opinion works
the way quoting a news article works. Select a passage above and the same panel
opens: the passage goes to the official you choose, with this document's own
address as its source and its own type. #}