Legal News

Breaking News: Supremes Strike Down D.C. Handgun Ban

By Dan Slater

Two of the biggest Supreme Court cases of the term, whose rulings were reserved for the last day of the term, both split along ideological lines. The Court has ruled, in a 5-4 (right-left) vote, to invalidate the so-called Millionaire’s Amendment to McCain-Feingold that was at issue in Davis v. Federal Election Commission. (Here’s the opinion, via Scotus blog, whose amazing live blog feature has enabled the LB to expedite this week’s Scotus news.)

In District of Columbia v. Heller, the hotly-anticipated case over the D.C. gun ban, a 5-4 majority affirmed the D.C. Circuit’s ruling that the District of Columbia’s ban on handguns violated the Second Amendment. The majority opinion was written by Justice Scalia. Justices Breyer and Stevens wrote dissents. (Here’s the opinion.)

Quoting the syllabus: “The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditional lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.” The ruling in Heller — stemming from a suit brought by several D.C. citizens who contended that the ban on firearms inside one’s home violated the Constitution — marks the first time in 70 years that the Court has weighed in on the meaning of the Second Amendment.

In Davis, the purported purpose of the millionaire’s amendment was to level the playing field between self-financed (read: wealthy) candidates and other candidates by requiring self-financed candidates to disclose more information and permitting their opponents to raise more money. At oral argument, Justice Ginsburg, who signed onto Justice Stevens’s dissent, said its purpose was to combat “the perception that the seats in our Congress are there to be bought by the wealthiest bidder.” Justice Scalia disliked that rationale: “Who is more incorruptible than the millionaire, right?” he asked during the arguments. .

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on June 26, 2008 (boomark / email).