In Lewis v. United States (1966), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a federal statute that prohibited convicted felons from possessing firearms, rejecting the defendant's argument that it violated his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. The case arose when petitioner, John F. Lewis Jr., was charged with illegally selling and transporting firearms after previously being convicted of a felony - an act in violation of Federal Firearms Act which prohibits any person who has been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for over one year to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate commerce. Lewis argued that this law compelled him to admit guilt about his prior conviction thus violating his right against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment. The court ruled 8-1 in favor of the government stating that there is no constitutional right for anyone to have guns and therefore prohibiting certain individuals from having them does not violate their rights.

In the dissenting opinion for Lewis v. United States, Justice William O. Douglas argued that a person's home should be inviolable and free from unreasonable searches and seizures as per the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. He contended that this protection should extend to all areas of a person's property, including their front porch or yard where an undercover agent had entered without permission in this case. The majority ruling held that no constitutional rights were violated when an undercover officer was invited into a suspect’s home under false pretenses because it did not constitute an unlawful search or seizure; however, Douglas disagreed with this interpretation asserting it undermined fundamental privacy rights protected by law.