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2022 Supreme(US)(ca4) 62

COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
United States – Appellant
Versus
Christopher Hasson – Respondent



PUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 20-4126

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

CHRISTOPHER PAUL HASSON,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Greenbelt. George J. Hazel, District Judge. (8:19-cr-00096-GJH-1)

Argued: March 12, 2021 Decided: February 22, 2022

Before MOTZ, DIAZ, and RUSHING, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge Rushing wrote the opinion, in which Judge Motz and Judge Diaz joined.

ARGUED: Cullen Oakes Macbeth, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Greenbelt, Maryland, for Appellant. Thomas Patrick Windom, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greenbelt, Maryland, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: James Wyda, Federal Public Defender, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellant. Robert K. Hur, United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee. USCA4 Appeal: 20-4126 Doc: 59 Filed: 02/22/2022 Pg: 2 of 31

RUSHING, Circuit Judge:

After unsuccessfully challenging the statute as unconstitutionally vague,

Christopher Hasson pleaded guilty to violating 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) by possessing

firearms as someone “who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance,”

in addition to three related counts. At sentencing, the district court increased Hasson’s

Guidelines range pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3A1.4 upon concluding that his offense was

intended to promote a federal crime of terrorism, and the court sentenced him to 160

months’ imprisonment. On appeal, Hasson contends that Section 922(g)(3) is facially

vague. He also argues that Section 3A1.4 cannot apply because he was not convicted of a

federal crime of terrorism and, in any event, the district court clearly erred in applying the

provision. We affirm his conviction and sentence. 1

I.

A.

In February 2019, federal authorities arrested Hasson as he arrived for work at the

United States Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. At the time, Hasson was a

lieutenant in the Coast Guard. The sworn criminal complaint charged Hasson with

unlawfully possessing Tramadol, an opioid pain reliever and Schedule IV controlled

substance, and possessing firearms and ammunition as an unlawful user or addict of a

1 We also deny Hasson’s motion to supplement his claims on appeal, which he filed three months after oral argument. See United States v. Leeson, 453 F.3d 631, 638 n.4 (4th Cir. 2006) (finding argument waived when it was available to the defendant at the time of his opening brief yet was raised for the first time in a notice of supplemental authority and was “wholly different” than the argument advanced in the opening brief). 2 USCA4 Appeal: 20-4126 Doc: 59 Filed: 02/22/2022 Pg: 3 of 31

controlled substance. See 21 U.S.C. § 844(a); 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3). Arresting agents

found 196 Tramadol pills in Hasson’s backpack and another 106 in his work desk. A

simultaneous search of Hasson’s residence uncovered another 122 Tramadol pills; 15

firearms; an unregistered, assembled firearm silencer; an unregistered, disassembled

firearm silencer; and hundreds of rounds of ammun

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