Ninth Circuit Holds That Possession of an "Assault Weapon" Isn't a "Crime of Violence":

Judge Kozinski's opinion on this issue — a matter of construing the Sentencing Guidelines, though informed by an understanding of what "assault weapons" are like and how they may be used — was just handed down yesterday. It struck me as an interesting example of how courts make decisions that rely on statutory text, precedent, action by other government bodies, and understanding of the world, and one that laypeople may find especially interesting because it's tied to (though not squarely a part of) the Great American Gun Debate. I've therefore included it below, for those who are interested; if you want the PDF version instead of HTML (or if you want the citations and footnotes, which have mostly been stripped below), see here.

Thanks to Steve Newman for the pointer.