United States of America v. Johnson

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas Robert Earl Johnson (""Johnson"") appeals from his criminal conviction for arson, raising an as-applied constitutional challenge to 18 U.S.C. § 844(I). Relying on United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995), he argues that his burning of a Methodist church did not substantially affect interstate commerce and that, as a consequence, there was an insufficient jurisdictional basis for his arson prosecution. Because the district court committed plain error in determining that a sufficient factual basis existed to support Johnson's plea, we vacate his guilty plea and remand for further proceedings. I