Frank J. Muscarello v. United States

Decided June 8, 1998. Stephen Gerald Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 96-1654 · 524 U.S. 125 (1998) · Cited 848 times

Holding

The phrase “carries a firearm” applies to a person who knowingly possesses and conveys firearms in a vehicle, including in the locked glove compartment or trunk of a car, which the person accompanies.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Bailey v. United States · 516 U.S. 137 (1995)
• United States v. Bass · 404 U.S. 336 (1971)
• Smith v. United States · 508 U.S. 223 (1993)
• Florida v. Jimeno · 500 U.S. 248 (1991)
• Staples v. United States · 511 U.S. 600 (1994)
• California v. Acevedo · 500 U.S. 565 (1991)
• Chapman v. United States · 500 U.S. 453 (1991)
• Reno v. Koray · 515 U.S. 50 (1995)
• United States v. Universal C. I. T. Credit Corp. · 344 U.S. 218 (1952)
• Simpson v. United States · 435 U.S. 6 (1978)
• Ladner v. United States · 358 U.S. 169 (1958)
• Busic v. United States · 446 U.S. 398 (1980)
• United States v. Wells · 519 U.S. 482 (1997)
• United States v. Granderson · 511 U.S. 39 (1994)
• Adamo Wrecking Co. v. United States · 434 U.S. 275 (1978)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• District of Columbia v. Heller · 554 U.S. 570 (2008)
• Shular v. United States · 589 U.S. 154 (2020)
• United States v. Davis · 588 U.S. 445 (2019)
• Rehaif v. United States · 588 U.S. 225 (2019)
• Rosemond v. United States · 572 U.S. 65 (2014)
• Ocasio v. United States · 578 U.S. 282 (2016)
• Robers v. United States · 572 U.S. 639 (2014)
• Dean v. United States · 556 U.S. 568 (2009)
• Barber v. Thomas · 560 U.S. 474 (2010)
• New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen · 597 U.S. 1 (2022)
• Holloway v. United States · 526 U.S. 1 (1999)
• United States v. Rodriguez-Moreno · 526 U.S. 275 (1999)
• United States v. Hansen · 599 U.S. 762 (2023)
• Wooden v. United States · 595 U.S. 360 (2022)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Stephen Gerald Breyer’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1998). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).