How long until the Supreme Court takes up another Second Amendment case after Bruen?
As detailed in a number of prior posts, the Supreme Court’s landmark Bruen Second Amendment decision has created considerable legal uncertainty, especially for various federal gun control laws. And, as two recent press pieces highlight, it seems like only a matter of time, given the lower-court churn over application of Bruen, before the Justices are going to have to engage with all the post-Bruen jurisprudence.
From the AP, “Turmoil in courts on gun laws in wake of justices’ ruling.” An excerpt:
Courts in recent months have declared unconstitutional federal laws designed to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, felony defendants and people who use marijuana. Judges have shot down a federal ban on possessing guns with serial numbers removed and gun restrictions for young adults in Texas and have blocked the enforcement of Delaware’s ban on the possession of homemade “ghost guns.”
In several instances, judges looking at the same laws have come down on opposite sides on whether they are constitutional in the wake of the conservative Supreme Court majority’s ruling. The legal turmoil caused by the first major gun ruling in a decade will likely force the Supreme Court to step in again soon to provide more guidance for judges.
From USA Today, “As nation reels from Michigan State shooting, courts wrestle with access to guns.” An excerpt:
The Supreme Court has said a lot recently about what the Second Amendment means. The next question for the justices may be: Who does it not apply to?
A series of criminal cases percolating in lower federal courts are striking at a question about when the government may deny someone — such as a person convicted of a nonviolent felony — access to a gun. Experts on both sides of the gun debate say the question is likely to make its way to the Supreme Court soon.
For various reasons, I suspect the Justices will be inclined to avoid taking up these matters for as long as possible. It was, after all, a dozen years between the the last major Second Amendment ruling (McDonald) and Bruen. But, in part because numerous lower-court rulings are striking down numerous federal criminal laws, I suspect the Justices will have to get back to these matters pretty soon.
“Pretty soon” in Supreme Court timelines likely still means a year or two, perhaps even longer. But I welcome in the comments any and all predictions as to when, and what kind of, a case ultimately serves as the vehicle for SCOTUS to clarify just where Bruen will take Second Amendment jurisprudence.