Constitutional Law

Development in Nordyke v. King

Nordyke is the incredibly long-lived challenge to a California ban on gun shows at a county facility. A three-judge Ninth Circuit panel had ruled that the Second Amendment applies to the States via the 14th, but that the ban was limited and constitutional. Then the Circuit voted, as a whole, for en banc review (meaning in most circuits, that the entire group of judges votes on it, but in the oversized 9th Circuit, it means the chief judge and ten others chosen at random, do so).

Today, the en banc panel voted to remand the case to the three judge panel for a ruling in light of McDonald. I've never seen this done before.

Hat tip to reader Gene Hoffman of CalGuns.

UPDATE: the only reading I can see is that the panel ruling, while upholding the law, fired up some anti-RKBA judges who weren't on the panel -- and enough of them to win a vote on rehearing en banc, where they could have a shot at reversing the panel. Now with McDonald, they know they have no chance at changing things, and have given up.

Full post as published by Of Arms and the Law on July 12, 2010 (boomark / email).