People v. Ramirez

Defendant was convicted of possession of a defaced firearm and challenged the sufficiency of the evidence on appeal, arguing that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew the serial number on the firearm was defaced. The appellate court affirmed, holding that the State was only required to prove that defendant knowingly possessed the defaced firearm and not that he knew it was defaced. The Supreme Court reversed, finding that a mens rea requirement that a defendant knew the firearm was defaced was necessary to comport with the second amendment and that to hold otherwise would transform otherwise innocent conduct, the possession of a firearm, into a felony. (NEVILLE, OVERSTREET, HOLDER WHITE, CUNNINGHAM, ROCHFORD, and O’BRIEN, concurring)