Skoien v. U.S., Amicus Brief

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On November 15, 2010 an amicus brief was filed on behalf of CLDEF in the case of Steven Skoien v. United States in the United States Supreme Court in support of petitioner Skoien.

The issue before the court of appeals was whether petitioner Skoien, an American citizen, could be disqualified from possession of a lawful firearm because he had been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, as defined in 18 U.S.C. section 922(g)(9). The amicus brief filed on behalf of CLDEF urges the Court to grant certiorari as petitioner’s case presents a fundamental Second Amendment issue that needs to be resolved and so that the Court can address its decision in Heller. Specifically, the brief asks the Court to reconsider its “presumptively lawful” dictum in Heller; to reaffirm its ruling in Heller, as restated in McDonald, rejecting judicial interest balancing; and to restate, and apply in this case, the Heller ruling that the Second Amendment right “belongs to all Americans.”

Link to brief