Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Sentencing Law and Policy

Criminal Law

: Sentencing Law and Policy

Seventh Circuit resists extending Second Amendment to the states

By Douglas A. Berman

The Seventh Circuit (per Judge Easterbrook) today rules that, in light of existing Supreme Court precedent, the Second Amendment is not applicable to state laws in NRA v. City of Chicago, No. 08-4241 (7th Cir. June 2, 2009) (available here). Here are just a a few of the many intriguing passages with cite ommitted) from an amusing (and quixotic?) ruling: Thus far neither the third nor the seventh amendment has been applied to the states ? nor has the grand jury clause of the fifth amendment or the excessive bail clause of the eighth.  How the second amendment will fare under the Court?s selective (and subjective) approach to incorporation is hard to predict.... It is dangerous to rely on Blackstone (or for that matter modern European laws banning handguns) to show the meaning of a constitutional amendment that this nation adopted in 1868...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on June 02, 2009 (boomark / email).