Free Republic

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a wonderful dissent in the Rahimi case, released on June 21, 2024, almost exactly two years after the clear and well-written Bruen opinion. The Rahimi opinion has been released by the Supreme Court. It is an eight-to-one decision with Justice Clarence Thomas dissenting. In spite of the terrible facts and unsympathetic defendant in the case, Rahimi was not a significant win for those who want the American population disarmed. It was a very narrow decision based on the narrow facts of the case, so the opinion, while not wonderful, is not as damaging as some think.The...

In the October 2023 term, the Supreme Court heard three significant cases involving the Second Amendment. Only one of these cases, Rahimi, was directly about the Second Amendment.Supreme Court terms begin with the first week in October. Court sessions usually end by the last week of June, occasionally extending into the first week of July. Cases decided by the court are published during the term before the Court recesses near the end of June. During the recess from the end of June to October, the court is busy studying cases that have been argued and working on their opinions.We should...

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On November 17, 2023, a three-judge panel for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in the case of USA v Kersee, unanimously held the district court order revoking his supervised release was not Constitutional. The reason was the district court did not afford him his constitutionally guaranteed right to confront and cross-examine witnesses. The charges in the case came from alleged domestic violence.There are parallels with the Rahimi case. Both cases involve domestic violence charges. In both cases, the accused have not been convicted of domestic violence. In the Rahimi case, there are additional charges in...

The Rahimi case oral arguments have been heard by the Supreme Court. It was bumped to the head of the line by the Biden administration. At its core, the case is not about domestic violence. It is about whether fundamental rights, enumerated in the Bill of Rights, can be nullified by a judge in a civil hearing with almost no due process. No jury trial, no right to a lawyer, no criminal conviction. From the Fifth Circuit decision on the case: Perhaps most importantly, the Government’s proffered interpretation lacks any true limiting principle. Under the Government’s reading, Congress could remove...

In the email alert from LII (Cornell's Legal Information Institute), which previews cases before the Supreme Court for Oral Arguments, it mentioned the following case to be heard Tuesday:United States v. RahimiIssues:Does 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), which prohibits people under domestic-violence restraining orders from possessing firearms, violate the Second Amendment?The transcript to the Oral Arguments should be available at the Supreme Court's website around 3pm central time. This one might be interesting.

John Lott and Carlisle E. Moody have authored a paper examining the effect of the Lautenberg Amendment prohibition on the possession of firearms by people subject to a domestic violence restraining order. The relevant statute is 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8). From the abstract: We find that 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) has no statistically significant beneficial impact on domestic murder, domestic femicide, domestic gun murder, or domestic gun femicide. Lott and Moody’s paper shows no policy advantages gained from the federal ban on the possession of firearms by people under a domestic violence restraining order. The ban fails to accomplish its...

Supreme Court agrees to hear 2nd Amendment case, signaling willingness to tolerate Biden administration’s resistance to recognizing Second Amendment rights.Zackey Rahimi, a convicted drug dealer, is an unsympathetic defendant in the case mischaracterized as being about domestic violence. It actually focuses on due process of law.5th Circuit panel correctly rules that constitutional rights cannot be taken away based on restraining orders. At least four Supreme Court judges support hearing the case. The Supreme Court, on the last day available this session, June 30, 2023, agreed to hear a Second Amendment case, United States v. Rahimi.This is not good news for...

Text messages between former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page debating how much information to share with the Justice Department about a London meeting -- days after the bureau opened its initial Russia investigation -- are drawing fresh scrutiny as alleged surveillance abuse and the probe’s origins are investigated by three separate probes, Fox News has learned. On Aug. 3, 2016, Strzok wrote, "I think we need to consider the lines of what we disclose to DOJ. For example, the last stipulation notes we will not disclose [the] identifies outside the FBI. I think you might argue the unauthorized...

<p>TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran's vice president said Monday that Tehran will break the `grasping hands' of newly re-elected President Barack Obama, the official IRNA news agency reported.</p> <p>Mohammad Reza Rahimi also said Iran will overcome U.S.-led sanctions against the country.</p>