Case Explained: Non-Argument Calendar UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ISIAH TEANTHONY JOY

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Filed: 2026-06-04 Docket: 7:23-cr-00225-LSC-NAD-1 The eleventh-circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence of Isiah Teanthony Joy for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). The court rejected Joy’s argument that the statute is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment, holding that it remains binding precedent that § 922(g)(1) does not violate the Second Amendment even when applied to nonviolent offenders who have prior drug or property offenses, citing *United States v. Dubois*. Regarding the sentence, the court applied an abuse of discretion standard and found no error in the district court’s decision to impose a 60-month term, which was an upward variance from the 24-to-30-month Guidelines range. The court ruled that sentencing judges are permitted under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) to consider a defendant’s history and characteristics even when those factors were already accounted for in the Guidelines calculation, and Joy failed to meet his burden of identifying specific similarly situated defendants who received lesser sentences to prove unwarranted disparity. As a result, the judgment of the district court stands, and Joy must serve the 60-month imprisonment term. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.