RODNEY CLASS v. UNITED STATES
Supreme Court of the United States, Breyer, February 21, 2018,
Appeal- Guilty Plea – A defendant who pleads guilty does not automatically give up the right to challenge a law as unconstitutional

Facts:
In 2013, Class was indicted for Possession of a Firearm on US Capitol Grounds after leaving a firearm inside of his Jeep while parked in a lot on the grounds of the US Capitol in Washington, DC.
Class challenged the statute, arguing that it violated his Second Amendment rights. The District Court denied his motion and Class pled guilty.
The terms of the guilty plea did not say anything about the right to raise on direct appeal a claim that the statute of conviction was unconstitutional.
After pleading guilty, Class appealed his conviction on the grounds that the law violated his Second Amendment rights.
The DC Court of Appeals denied the appeal, holding that he waived his right to challenge the statute by pleading guilty.
Class then requested review by the Supreme Court, arguing that pleading guilty did not waive his right to challenge the statute’s constitutionality.

Held: The Supreme Court agreed that nothing in the plea agreement denied him the right to challenge the statute’s constitutionality.