The motion is here. An excerpt: [T]he State of Texas and 37 other States … request that the Court divide oral argument for Petitioners, and allow Greg Abbott, Attorney General of Texas, on behalf of the amici States, 10 minutes of argument time. Petitioners support this motion, and have agreed to cede 10 minutes to […]
Archive | Guns
A very Gura Christmas
As part of our special Christmas and Hanukkah programming on the VC, here is a 50-minute podcast interview with Alan Gura. It’s all about McDonald v. Chicago, particularly about the meaning of the Privileges or Immunities clause and of the Due Process clause.
Does the Cert Grant in McDonald Suggest the Court Will Rethink Slaughterhouse?
Those who expect the Supreme Court to rethink and perhaps overturn the Slaughterhouse cases in McDonald v. City of Chicago often look to the scope of the cert grant to justify that prediction. The Justices could have granted cert only on the question of whether the Due Process clause incorporates the Second Amendment. But they […]
McDonald v. Chicago oral argument scheduled
For March 2, at 10 a.m. In other McDonald news, Declan McCullagh of CBS News has an article discussing some of the McDonald amicus briefs, including mine. And in my continuing program of calling attention to interesting briefs in the McDonald case, here’s a link to the brief of Safari Club International. It’s a solid […]
McDonald amicus briefs: Academics, Congress redux, and California District Attorneys
By David Kopel on November 25, 2009 3:20 pm in Congress, Constitutional History, Fourteenth Amendment, Guns, Seventh Circuit
Thirty two amicus briefs in McDonald v. Chicago have been filed so far, and they are all available at the Chicago Gun Case website, run by the Second Amendment Foundation (which is one of the parties in McDonald). My brief is also available on SSRN. The next brief (Chicago’s) is not due until Dec. 30, […]
California & Nevada District Attorneys’ Brief in Support of Incorporation of the Second Amendment
The brief, of (among others) 34 California DA’s, 8 Nevada DA’s, three Western sheriffs (two from California and one from Arizona), and a couple of California police officers’ groups, is here. It was interesting for me to note that it include DAs from all the Southern California counties except Los Angeles and Riverside, and including […]
Health bill and gun ownership
Today’s Washington Examiner has an article about the concerns that Gun Owners of America has raised about the health care bill which is currently on the Senate floor. I am quoted therein, and I think that GOA has a good point. The Examiner article concludes with a contrary quote: “It is very clear they are […]
Kopel brief in McDonald v. Chicago
Available on SSRN. (This is the abstract page. To read the full brief, click “Download,” then on the new screen click the button for which city’s server you will use for the download.) The brief is filed on behalf of the two major police training organizations in the United States: the International Law Enforcement Educators […]
Institute for Justice brief in McDonald v. Chicago
Counsel of record is Clark Neilly, who was Alan Gura’s right-hand man in Heller. The most important part of the brief is Part III, which begins: “To enslave a class of people requires three basic things: destroy their self-sufficiency, prevent them from fighting back, and silence any opposition.” The brief then goes on to argue that the […]
Congressional brief in McDonald v. Chicago
By David Kopel on November 23, 2009 3:26 pm in Congress, Constitutional History, Fourteenth Amendment, Guns
Available here. Joined by 58 Senators (including 19 Democrats) and 251 U.S. Representatives (including 78 Democrats, although my count here may not be exact). Counsel of Record is former Solicitor General Paul D. Clement. Much of the brief recapitulates the lengthy historical record of congressional action (including but not limited to Reconstruction) to protect the […]
Academics for the Second Amendment brief in McDonald
By David Kopel on November 23, 2009 2:52 pm in Congress, Constitutional History, Fourteenth Amendment, Guns, Press
Available here. Co-authored by Joseph Olson (Hamline), David Hardy, and Clayton Cramer. Key point: From 1789 to 1860, popular and legal understanding of the Second Amendment became much less militia-centric. Well before Reconstruction, the Second Amendment was considered to be mainly a guarantee of a right to own and carry guns for personal protection. Back […]
Missouri Court Upholds Statute Against Gun Possession While Intoxicated
Missouri v. Richard was decided earlier this week by the Missouri Supreme Court, solely on the basis of the Missouri Constitution. Missouri law, Section 571.030.1(5) punishes someone who “Possesses or discharges a firearm or projectile weapon while intoxicated.” Richard did in fact possess a loaded handgun while intoxicated (eventually to the point of unconsciousness) by morphine and […]
Seventh Circuit Vacates Conviction for Gun Possession By a Misdemeanant Convicted of Domestic Violence, Remands for Further Proceedings
From U.S. v. Skoien, decided today: A grand jury indicted Steven Skoien for possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9)…. Skoien pleaded guilty but reserved his right to appeal [on Second Amendment grounds] the district court’s denial of his motion to […]
Predicting McDonald
By Randy Barnett on November 18, 2009 9:52 am in Civil Rights, Constitutional History, Constitutional Theory, Guns, Originalism, Property Rights, Supreme Court, Uncategorized
Below, my colleague Orin offers his predictions as to whether the Supreme Court will restore the “lost” Privileges or Immunities Clause to constitutional law. He may well be correct in predicting but a single vote for that proposition, but I remember when many predicted Angel Raich would get 0-1 votes for her Commerce Clause challenge […]
How I’d Approach the Privileges or Immunities Issue in McDonald
Let’s say someone hired me to write an amicus brief in the McDonald Second Amendment case, and my goal was to get the Court to overrule the SlaughterHouse Cases (holding that the Privileges or Immunities Clause is a virtual nullity) and get the Court to hold that the Clause protects a right to bear arms, […]