Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Nov. 2025)

This post summarizes published criminal law cases released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during November 2025. Cases of potential interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous summaries of Fourth Circuit cases are available here. While the officer acted reasonably in stopping the defendant at gunpoint under the circumstances, court rejects officer’s suggestion that a firearm may be used during any encounter for any crime; defendant’s Second Amendment challenge to firearm by felon was foreclosed by circuit precedent U.S. v. Coe, 159 F.4th 202 (Nov. 12, 2025). In this case from the Eastern District of Virginia, an officer noticed the defendant sitting in a car in front of a convenience store. The defendant was in the driver’s seat of the car, another person was sitting in the front passenger seat, and other people were mingling about. The officer knew that illegal drug activity frequently occurred inside and outside of the store. The officer noticed the defendant was holding plastic bags with apparent cocaine inside. The officer approached the car, drew his gun, and opened the driver’s side door. The officer pinned the defendant to the side of the car as the defendant exited. At this point, the officer lowered his gun and pulled out his taser. The defendant resisted the officer and threw the bags containing suspected cocaine towards the front of the car. During the encounter, the officer noticed a gun in the defendant’s waistband, leading to a federal prosecution for possession of firearm by a felon. The [...]