Heller's Future in the Lower Courts

10 Pages Posted: 17 Jul 2008 Last revised: 9 Oct 2023

See all articles by Glenn Harlan Reynolds

Glenn Harlan Reynolds

University of Tennessee College of Law

Brannon P. Denning

Samford University - Cumberland School of Law

Date Written: July 17, 2008

Abstract

The Supreme Court's recent decision in District of Columbia v. Heller not only established an individual right to gun ownership, but also overturned - by a 9-0 margin - lower-court caselaw based on a "collective right" interpretation of the Second Amendment. This article looks at how Heller is likely to fare in the lower courts, based on experience with other recent Supreme Court decisions, and incorporates new scholarship on decision rules and the so-called "new doctrinalism."

Keywords: heller, guns, firearms, constitutional law, second amendment, gun control, decision rules

Suggested Citation

Reynolds, Glenn Harlan and Denning, Brannon P., Heller's Future in the Lower Courts (July 17, 2008). Northwestern University Law Review, Vol. 102, No. 406, 2008, University of Tennessee Legal Studies Research Paper No. 40, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1162168

Glenn Harlan Reynolds (Contact Author)

University of Tennessee College of Law ( email )

1505 West Cumberland Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37996-1810
United States
865-974-6744 (Phone)

Brannon P. Denning

Samford University - Cumberland School of Law ( email )

800 Lakeshore Dr.
Birmingham, AL 35229
United States
205-726-2413 (Phone)
205-726-4060 (Fax)

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