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Fourth Circuit orders Second Amendment hearing to assess constitutionality of § 922(g)(9)

By Douglas A. Berman

The Fourth Circuit has added a final bit of Second Amendment fireworks to close out 2010 through a long decision today in US v. Chester, No. 09-4084 (4th Cir. Dec. 30, 2010) (available here).  Here is how the majority opinion by Chief Judge Traxler starts and ends in Chester: The sole issue presented in this appeal is whether William Samuel Chester?s conviction for illegal possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) abridges his right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment in light of District of Columbia v. Heller, 128 S. Ct. 2783 (2008). We vacate the decision below and remand for further proceedings.... We cannot conclude on this record that the government has carried its burden of establishing a reasonable fit between the important object of reducing domestic gun violence and § 922(g)(9)?s permanent disarmament of all domestic violence misdemeanants...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on December 30, 2010 (boomark / email).