On May 23, in United States v. Jimenez-Shilon, the 11th Circuit rejected a Second Amendment challenge to 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5)(A), which prohibits firearm use or possession by any “alien” who is “illegally or unlawfully in the United States.” The holding itself is in some ways unremarkable – it joins every other federal circuit court […]
Earlier this week, in United States v. Jimenez-Shilon, the Eleventh Circuit rejected a Second Amendment challenge to the federal law barring undocumented immigrants from possessing firearms. Dru Stevenson will be guest posting about the case on this blog. But I want to highlight a few aspects of Judge Newsom’s majority and separate concurring opinions—and compare […]
At conference last week, the Court considered the cert petition in Bianchi, challenging Maryland’s assault weapons ban. Today’s order list has no mention of the case, which signals the Court is likely holding the case pending the outcome in Bruen. This marks the second case in the category of “what arms are protected” (along with ANJRP) that […]
Katrina Brees Tells Her Mother’s Story I know my mom didn’t shoot herself because she wanted to be dead. She did it because she was in unbearable pain and in the throes of a psychiatric episode. My mom, Donna Nathan, loved her life. She loved to dance to Cajun music and The Beatles. She’d grab […]
Last week, in Jones v. Bonta, a split panel of the Ninth Circuit ruled that California’s restriction on rifle purchases by 18- to 20-year olds violates the Second Amendment. The case is a major victory for gun-rights proponents, but that victory is likely to be short-lived. The en banc Ninth Circuit tends to reverse panels […]
There weren’t any new cert petitions filed this past week, but in its order list this morning, the Court denied cert in the Cassidy and Turner cases. Petitions Pending Case Ct. Below Pet. Filed Implicated Law/Issue Status New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (20-843) 2d Cir. 17-Dec-20 Challenge to New York’s good […]
After serving as the executive director since the Center opened in February 2019, Jake will be joining the faculty of Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law this summer. The Center’s subject-matter experts and founders, faculty co-directors Joseph and Darrell, will continue to oversee the mission and work of the Center, and they recently completed a […]
There’s been a spate of new Second Amendment scholarship, including a just published piece by the Center’s own Joseph Blocher (with co-author Eric Ruben). There are also a couple of wide-ranging student pieces skeptical about/supportive of different gun regulations. Eric Ruben & Joseph Blocher, “Second-Class” Rhetoric, Ideology, and Doctrinal Change, 110 Geo. L.J. 613 (2022) […]
Another week with no new relevant cert petitions filed. The Cassidy case—challenging the MA requirement of a permit for home firearm possession—goes to conference this Thursday along with Turner, which challenges trial questioning about firearms. Both are probably unlikely grants, but Cassidy stands a greater chance than Turner, given that the respondents waived the right […]
Last week Professor Charles highlighted the burgeoning legal controversies involving “ghost guns” (homemade firearms that have no serial numbers) to illustrate what he perceives to be problems with a judicial test based on text, history, and tradition (THT). As an advocate of the THT Test, I offered a response, which Professor Charles graciously accepted. I […]