Hey Man, Slow Down, Slow Down
Congratulations to Mr. James Watson Kizer (a.k.a. Jim) for correctly naming "Wish You Were Here" by Incubus as the Sunday Song of the Day. If the song had instead been "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd, I harbor no fantasies that anyone but Tim Henderson would have seen their name in lights.
Due to the fact that as of approximately 3:30 this afternoon I have one Constitutional Law class under my belt, I feel a compulsion to comment on what might be a groundbreaking moment for the Roberts Court. This week, the Court has the opportunity to grant certiorari on a landmark 2nd Amendment case from the District of Columbia. The specific law in question bans all handguns in the District and requires any other guns in citizens' homes to be disassembled or secured by trigger locks.
Today, even though it often seems that all of the truly pressing and juicy constitutional questions have been answered, the Supreme Court has never truly addressed the scope and practical application of the 2nd Amendment in such a direct manner as is presented in District of Columbia v. Heller. Many of you who frequently read this blog may have no interest whatsoever in cases that could be possibly decided by the United States Supreme Court (Katie, I'm looking at you), and I can understand such a mindset to a certain extent but I cannot forgive it.
The decisions of the nine members of the Supreme Court do not exist in a vacuum. They have practical applications and implications for each and every person that lives or visits this country. Part of our national fabric is formed through the interpretation of the document that structures, regulates, and directs our journey. I understand that perhaps everyone cannot be expected to name each of the current justices (Stevens, Roberts, Ginsburg, Thomas, Alito, Breyer, Souter, Kennedy, and Scalia if you're scoring at home), but to act as if the decisions that are handed down from Washington are irrelevant to the lives that we lead is to join the ostriches by placing our collective head in the sand. Current Reading
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Labels: current reading, Law school, U.S. Supreme Court
posted by Justin @ 11/12/2007 08:12:00 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
SCOTUS!
This is a much more interesting post than your usual "futbol" fare.
I think the Heller case is particularly interesting because of the breadth of the issue. This isn't a case about trigger locks or 24-hour waits or an assault weapon ban; this is a case about a total gun ban. I've heard that the NRA is trying to get the Supreme Court not to grant cert. Should be interesting to see what develops.
When I went to DC last year, the Supreme Court was my absolute FAVORITE stop on my self-made tour along which I forced my mom to accompany me. The more you write these kinds of posts the more I'll read...I'm like your sister, I skip right over the Liverpool ones :). Congratulations on another semester of law school!
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