254
Opinion of Stevens, J.
I
Petitioner was charged with the knowing possession of an unregistered and unserialized firearm described as "a 9" by 13/4" silencer," App. 6-7, in violation of 26 U. S. C. §§ 5861(d) and (i).1 Although he claimed that he did not know that the item was in a canvas bag found behind the driver's seat in his pickup truck when he was arrested, he candidly acknowledged that he knew it was a silencer. He repeated this admission during questioning by the police and in his testimony at trial; moreover, it was confirmed by his lawyer during argument to the jury.
Under our decision in Staples v. United States, 511 U. S. 600 (1994), the mens rea element of a violation of § 5861(d) requires the Government to prove that the defendant knew that the item he possessed had the characteristics that brought it within the statutory definition of a firearm.2 It
1 Section 5861 provides that "[i]t shall be unlawful for any person . . . (d) to receive or possess a firearm which is not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record; or . . . (i) to receive or possess a firearm which is not identified by a serial number as required by this chapter." Section 5845(a) provides that "[t]he term 'firearm' means . . . (7) any silencer (as defined in section 921 of title 18, United States Code)."
In a separate count petitioner was charged with the unlawful possession of a machinegun in violation of 18 U. S. C. § 922(o). His conviction on that count was reversed on appeal after the Government conceded that the evidence did not establish that petitioner knew that the gun had been modified to act as a fully automatic weapon. 94 F. 3d 1519, 1523 (CA11 1996). Reversal was therefore required under Staples v. United States, 511 U. S. 600 (1994), which was decided after the trial in this case.
2 See id., at 602 (Government must prove that defendant "knew the weapon he possessed had the characteristics that brought it within the statutory definition of a machinegun"); id., at 604 ("[Section] 5861(d) requires proof that a defendant knew of the characteristics of his weapon that made it a 'firearm' under the Act"); id., at 609 ("[Section] 5861(d) requires the defendant to know of the features that make his weapon a statutory 'firearm' "); id., at 619 ("Thus, to obtain a conviction, the Government should have been required to prove that petitioner knew of the features of his AR-15 that brought it within the scope of the Act"); id., at
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