Constitutional Law

Police discount "suicide by alligator" theory

Posted on March 09, 2008
Personally, I suspect the explanation is more like a heavy dose of drugs. Or perhaps he want to star in a sequel to Dances with Wolves: Swims with Gators.

Nathan Kozuskanich's new article taken under fire

Posted on March 09, 2008
In Heller, both DC and some of its amici invoked an upcoming law review by Nathan Kozuskanich, who works with Saul Cornell. It's just been put online, i.e., too late for any pro-Heller amici to insert references to it. The article begins with praise for Saul Cornell's new book, and describes the DC CIrcuit ruling as relying on the "flawed and distorted version of history that Gura and his partisan amicus briefs offered...

Not LA Sheriff's Office shining hour...

Posted on March 09, 2008
Story here. The guy wasn't exactly an upstanding citizen, but the basis for shooting is doubtful at best, and at the end of the gunplay the score stands: 120 shots fired, apparently at a stationary SUV and driver. 66 hits on the SUV. 9 hits on the driver, all survivable...

Deputy Director of ATF files whistleblower complaint

Posted on March 08, 2008
Story here. I've heard of a number of such complaints, where some government employee can show that he revealed fraud, waste, abuse or criminality within his agency, and thereupon was demoted, given bad evaluations (which are death to promotion or bonuses), miserable assignments, etc...

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A mechanized militia?

Posted on March 08, 2008
An Atlanta, bar owner "takes back the night" with a homebrew robocop.

Thought on next election

Posted on March 08, 2008
Ed Whelan, at The Weekly Standard, has some serious thoughts about the power to appoint Supreme Court justices. Whoever wins in November will likely get to appoint 2-3 justices on their first term, and perhaps as many in their second. Via the Volokh Conspiracy...

Earth Liberation Front members take a dive

Posted on March 08, 2008
Convicted of arson. Story here.

New VPC blog

Posted on March 08, 2008
Never knew Violence Policy Center to have a sense of humor like this. Hat tip to reader Bill Bailey... UPDATE: It really is a gag site, a parody of VPC's positions.

David Young's response to DC's amicus briefs

Posted on March 06, 2008
David E. Young has links to several analyses of DC's amicus briefs here.

DC's reply brief in Heller

Posted on March 05, 2008
It's online at SCOTUSBlog. Reading it now. Interesting that it cites to Larry Tribe's article in yesterday's WSJ. Supremes briefs have to be printed, so this probably "went to bed" last week. On a quick read: Terribly weak on "not an individual right...

Gov Kaine (VA) vetoes two pro gun bills

Posted on March 05, 2008
One story here, of many. The two bills sound pretty inoccuous, even if the person looking at them was against arms. One (from news accounts) let a CCW carrier enter an establishment that serves alcohol, so long as he didn't drink any. The other seems to have provided that a firearm secured in some way in a vehicle is not concealed (which has been the law in AZ since 1977 without incident)...

Sup. Ct. to release audio of Heller arguments on same day

Posted on March 05, 2008
Story here. Normally it takes a few days, but in a handful of high-profile cases, the Court has done a same-day release.

Larry Tribe on Heller

Posted on March 04, 2008
Larry Tribe of Harvard Law has an article in the Wall Street Journal. I think his position is somewhere between unclear and inchoherent; seems to agree that there is an individual right but even a complete ban on handguns is an acceptable regulation...

Podcast: Prof. Michael O'Shea on Heller

Posted on March 03, 2008
Right here. The Heller discussion starts at about 3.5 minutes into it. I'll be on a plane tommorrow, so blogging will be light...

Tent-pegging

Posted on March 03, 2008
Well, it does deal with arms, anyway. The sport of tent-pegging traditionally consisted of setting up wooden tent pegs and targets, and then the lancer tried to nail them as he galloped past. Needless to say, it takes a heck of a lot of skill to hit a tent peg with a lance, at the gallop! I have no idea why they sent the me this email, but thought it so interesting that I'd pass it on...

Thought on Solicitor General's position

Posted on March 03, 2008
From Pres. Bush's 2004 Platform: "Republicans and President Bush strongly support an individual right to own guns, which is explicitly protected by the Constitution's Second Amendment." ....... "We believe the 2nd Amendment and all the rights guaranteed by it should enable law-abiding citizens throughout the country to own firearms in their homes for self-defense...

Summary of Heller

Posted on March 03, 2008
Here it is, a preview from Cornell University's LII Bulletin.

Hillary v. Obama

Posted on March 02, 2008
Assessing those two on gun rights issues is a little like debating who was better on freedom of expression, Hitler or Stalin, but.... over at the LA Times blog, Tim Cavanaugh points out one distinction. When the bill to forbid seizures of lawfully-owned guns in the wake of a natural disaster came up, Obama voted for it, and Hillary voted against...

Revolving doors

Posted on March 01, 2008
I don't usually comment on "revolving door justice," because in most States (and certainly under the Federal Guidelines), sentencing is pretty strict. But this case out of Florida certainly merits that label. Watch the video for a list of his priors...

Another take on USA Today re: Heller

Posted on February 28, 2008
Shining City on a Hill has this take on Heller, and on this USA Today article. The USA Today piece points out an interesting cultural rift: 73% of the American public believes it has an individual right to arms, but the enormous majority of lower federal court judges believe they do not...

Campus carry bill moving ahead in OK

Posted on February 28, 2008
Reader Jay Norton writes: Just a quick note to inform you of our efforts here in Oklahoma regarding campus carry. HB2513 by Jason Murphey (R-Guthrie) has passed out of committee by a vote of 14-2 and is headed to the House floor. NRA-ILA has picked up on this, and Mr...

The Justices on how they handle a case

Posted on February 28, 2008
Detailed video interviews of eight of the Justices on how they approach a case. From the Volokh Conspiracy.

Commentary on Obama and the Heller case

Posted on February 28, 2008
At Direct Democracy. "Obama tells everybody what they want to hear! Who cares if it's irresponsible bullshit?" What's interesting is that this is from an ANTI-seccond amendment type, complaining about Obama's claiming to support an individidual right.

An interesting call for on-campus CCW

Posted on February 28, 2008
"Stop Or I'll Toot Is Not Safe for Women". Someone is raping women on the Univ. of Nevada/Reno campus, so university police are passing out "rape whistles." Hat tip to reader Jack Anderson...

McCain's constitutional qualifications

Posted on February 28, 2008
Now that it's turned to running down McCain, the NY Times has an article questioning whether he meets the constitutional requirement of being a "natural born" citizen. He was born in the Panama Canal Zone, of citizen parents. Apparently there was a statute passed by the First Congress that included persons such as he among "natural born...

RIP Judge Wm Browning

Posted on February 27, 2008
Local federal District Court judge William Browning died last night. My first job out of law school was with his firm, Browning & Wilson-Druke. Carol Wilson-Druke passed away some years ago. Browning was a westerner and a fun guy to be around. He did slip now and then...

FEC rejects Brady allegations

Posted on February 27, 2008
The FEC just rejected allegations against NRA and GOA, filed by the Brady Campaign. Via NY State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n blog.

A unique resource for Heller

Posted on February 26, 2008
Reader Matt Carmel has created a truly unique resource for Heller, which you can download in .zip format by clicking here. Caveat: it's a 41 Meg file, even compressed as a .zip. Require Adobe Reader to use. What it is: a spreadsheet on the briefs and, more important, a keyword searchable Adobe file, so you can just enter a word or phrase and immediately see which briefs used it...

Prof. Sanford Levinson on Heller: why use originalism?

Posted on February 26, 2008
Article here. As always, interesting and provocative. He asks "why use originalism" in the sense that Parker/Heller can win on a broader view; that the right has evolved in Americans' minds to become ever more strongly individual, and that should be taken into account...

John Lott's latest on "gun free zones"

Posted on February 26, 2008
Right here. "But, as happens time after time in these attacks when uniformed police are there, the killers either wait for the police to leave the area or they are the first people killed. In Kirkwood, the police officer was killed immediately when the attack started...

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