« "You can't handle the truth" ... about prison overcrowding | Main | New article looking at post-Booker sentencing appeals »

August 12, 2008

Updates on post-Heller Second Amendment litigation

As regular readers will recall, I predicted lots and lots of lower court litigation driven by federal criminal defendants in the wake of the Supreme Court's Heller Second Amendment ruling.  Eugene Volokh has been doing an effective job keeping up with much of this litigation, and here are a few of his more recent posts discussing various lower court Second Amendment rulings:

In his review of all this litigation, Eugene rightly notes in nearly all post-Heller cases, lower courts have rejected (often with sloppy reasoning) efforts by criminal defendants to apply Heller and the Second Amendment in a way that would help gun owners.  I continue to be disappointed, but not at all surprised, that lower courts have proven so eager and able to give short shrift to the Heller ruling when criminal defendants are asserting Second Amendment rights.

Interestingly, Orin Kerr has this new notable post also over at The Volokh Conspiracy, titled "Justice Kennedy, Heller, and the Future of the Second Amendment," in which he reports that at the recent Ninth Circuit judicial conference "Justice Kennedy appears to suggest ... he will take a living constitutionalist approach to the Second Amendment that may point to more gun rights under the Second Amendment than an originalist approach would provide."  If Justice Kennedy is serious about taking Heller and the Second Amendment seriously, criminal defendants should keep pressing their claims at least until the Supreme Court has a chance to speak to the many issues left unresolved in Heller.

Some related post-Heller posts:

August 12, 2008 at 07:14 AM | Permalink

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
https://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451574769e200e553dfe71d8833

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Updates on post-Heller Second Amendment litigation:

Comments

The application of gun laws in urban areas, and in lower and state courts, often poses a stark contrast with higher and Supreme Court rulings. The principle of the Second Amendment is defended by the Supreme Court, but the partical application of the law in criminal matters is a much different creature.

Posted by: Joe | Aug 12, 2008 11:07:11 AM

Personally, I have no problem with felons, who have served their sentences, having their gun rights restored IF it is in conjunction with having their voting rights restored. In addition, I think they should be required to serve on juries as well. I find it rather annoying that many politicians want to restore the voting rights of felons yet draw the line at gun ownership and jury duty. Frankly, if you can be trusted to vote, you can be trusted to own a gun and serve on a jury.

Posted by: Robert | Aug 14, 2008 6:43:53 AM

Hello, world! Newly I have found interesting online - game. It has reminded me game in which I played the childhood with friends. Its name an <a href=http://headortail.com>«Head or Tails»</a>. The principle of game is based on equal odds, probability of a win - 50 %. It means, if I stake one dollar- or I lose it or win one more dollar. The maximal stake for one round – 50 dollars. Also it is possible to throw simultaneously two coins. In that

Posted by: fleefssiz | May 7, 2009 11:56:14 AM

This is a great post; it was very informative. I look forward in reading more of your work. Also, I made sure to bookmark your website so I can come back later. I enjoyed every moment of reading it. internet marketing

Posted by: thomas sabo | Nov 3, 2010 3:47:44 AM

Wirklich danke, ich finde so eine gute Seite, ich muss es aufschreiben, um meinen Freunden empfehlen

Posted by: pandora perlen | Nov 4, 2010 11:05:25 PM

I like it very much, welcome to my website, here are you like all ladies adorn article, thank you

Posted by: thomas sabo ireland | Nov 22, 2010 12:19:41 AM

Great Blog! Thanks so much for this useful information.
I hope you will contribute a lot to all your readers and gain more valuable information. Thanks!

Posted by: pandora jewelry | Dec 3, 2010 8:55:31 PM

Great Job! Great Site! Very Interesting! Thanks!

Posted by: מוסך פורד | Jan 6, 2011 6:21:16 AM

Post a comment

In the body of your email, please indicate if you are a professor, student, prosecutor, defense attorney, etc. so I can gain a sense of who is reading my blog. Thank you, DAB