SCOTUS Gun Watch, Episode 3

Last week was another relatively quiet week on the gun docket. A few briefing deadlines were extended, and we got one new firearms-related cert petition this week in a case seeking GVR (grant, vacate, and remand; a form of summarily sending a case back to the lower court to consider in light of a recent Supreme Court case or other intervening change in law). That case argues GVR is warranted in light of last term’s Rehaif decision requiring the government to prove that an individual prohibited from possessing guns knew the status that made his possession unlawful (here, his particular immigration status).

One highlight for the week: the case arising from the Sandy Hook massacre—Remington v. Soto—which I’ve written about a couple of times (here and here), goes to its first conference this Friday. It’s possible, though unlikely, that we’ll hear news about the Court’s decision to hear the case or not in the orders coming next Tuesday after the conference. (Monday’s a federal holiday next week, so no orders then.) It’s more likely we’ll have to wait a little longer if the Court is inclined to hear the case as the Court increasingly relies on the practice of relisting a case for multiple conferences in the event it’s going to grant review.