SCOTUS Gun Watch, Episode 8

This post-NYSRPA week saw some more action at the Court. No new grants or orders in NYSRPA—though it’s possible we may get more orders on Tuesday this week. But the Supreme Court did deny cert in two pending petitions on the chart below, one of which was surprising to me. In that case, Medina v. Barr, the challenger claimed that the felon firearm prohibition—922(g)(1)—was applied unconstitutionally in his case because his conviction was old and for a non-violent offense. The D.C. Circuit had rejected the claim. But not only had the Court rejected the claim, it rejected even the idea that typical felons could mount as-applied challenges to 922(g)(1), something several courts of appeals have permitted or assumed could be brought. What’s surprising is that the Court did not hold Medina pending its determination in NYSRPA in the same way it has apparently been holding the first six cases below. As I noted on Twitter, perhaps the Court decided something about NYSRPA in its conference last Friday that means it would make little sense to hold any new cases. We’ll likely soon see.

The new petition, in Wilson v. Cook County, challenges a local assault weapons and high-capacity magazine ban. What’s interesting about that case (beyond the substance) is that the challengers actually raise as a question presented the issue about the proper methodology for resolving Second Amendment claims.