With the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals deciding this week to grant an en banc review of the court’s decision overturning California’s ban on ammunition magazines that can hold more than ten rounds, I thought it would be timely to devote an episode of Bearing Arms’ Cam & Co to that case, along with some of the other Second Amendment-related cases that are slowly working their way through the appeals process in the appellate court. I’m thrilled that California Rifle & Pistol Association president and general counsel Chuck Michel could join me on today’s program as we discuss the latest legal machinations regarding our right to keep and bear arms.
Michel tells me that he’s cautiously optimistic about the en banc hearing, noting that the Ninth Circuit isn’t dominated by anti-gun judges anymore. Thanks to the efforts of Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, and Senate Republicans over the last few years, the Ninth Circuit is far more balanced than in years past, though it’s not quite a 50-50 split.
Since the Ninth Circuit is so large, instead of every judge on the appellate court taking part in an en banc review (as is the case in other appellate courts), eleven judges will be randomly selected to re-hear the case. Michel says he’s hopeful that a majority will vote to uphold both the decision by U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez and the three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit led by Judge Kenneth Lee that declared California’s law to be a violation of the rights of residents.
Even if the court goes the other way, however, Michel says the ultimate goal is for the Supreme Court to weigh in, and he’s even more optimistic that by the time Duncan vs. Becerra reaches the Court, justices will have taken up and decided another Second Amendment case that will provide real clarity to lower courts on the standard of review that should be used when deciding the constitutionality of gun control laws.
We Often Feel Like David Taking on Giants
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JD Rucker