DC v. Heller: Opening Arguments

[Clinotus]

Audio available here:

http://www.cspan.org/watch/cs_cspan_wm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS

[Clinotus]

Dellinger is getting rocked so far by the Judges.

This is looking good so far (I'm 10 minutes in).

I'm just going to edit this post with a few highlights rather than re-posting.

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Justice Roberts: "What is reasonable about a total ban on possession?"

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Justice Scalia: Mr. Dellinger, let's come back to your description of the opinion below as allowing armor-piercing bullets and machine guns. I didn't read it that way. I though the opinion below said it had to be the kind of weapon that was common for the people to have.

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Follow up stating that the current law could prevent individuals with legally owned weapons from using them for self-defense.

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Dellinger is trying to cede his time but they have requested he remain.

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Solicitor General Paul Clement is up. Much better arguments now in play.

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Stevens just put a smack down on Clement, stating that the framers were to add additional wording to the (2a) stating it was an individual right.

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Souter is questioning keep and bear. (own and carry): You're not saying that if somebody goes hunting deer he is bearing arms, or are you?

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They seem to be moving (from the Justices) that if the original laws are based on the British laws, then so the word bear is from the English ban on Scots bearing arms with no mention of a militia, JUSTICE SCALIA: Wasn't -- wasn't it the case that the banning of arms on the part of the Scottish highlanders and of Catholics in England used the term, forbade them to "bear arms"? It didn't mean that could just not join militias; it meant they couldn't carry arms.

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Alito asks how the law could stand review when it bans the weapon most commonly used for self defense.

JUSTICE ALITO: If the amendment is intended at least, in part to protect the right to self-defense in the home, how could the District code provision survive under any standard of review where they totally ban the possession of the type of weapon that's most commonly used for self-defense, and even as to long guns and shotguns they require, at least what the code says without adding a supposed gloss that might be produced in a subsequent case, that even as to long guns and shotguns they have to be unloaded and disassembled or locked at all times, even presumably if someone is breaking into the home?

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GENERAL CLEMENT: Well, Justice Alito, let me answer the question in two parts if I can, because I think the analysis of the trigger lock provision may
6 well be different than the analysis of the other provisions. With respect to the trigger lock provision, we think that there is a substantial argument that once this Court clarifies what the constitutional standard is, that there ought to be an opportunity for the District of Columbia to urge its construction, which would allow for a relatively robust self-defense exception to the trigger lock provision. And this Court could very well, applying Ashwan to prevent --
principles allow for that kind of --

JUSTICE SCALIA: I don't understand that. What would that be -- that you can, if you have time, when you hear somebody crawling in your -- your bedroom window, you can run to your gun, unlock it, load it and then fire? Is that going to be the exception?

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CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: Well, the law, as I understand it, says that the gun has to be unloaded. So under your hypothetical, I assume that would violate the District's law if the gun is still loaded.
MR. DELLINGER: You know, it's a question of where you put the parenthesis. I read that as disassembled and unloaded or under a trigger lock, and that's the, that's the way the District --
CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: So how long does it take? If your interpretation is correct, how long does it take to remove the trigger lock and make the gun
operable.
MR. DELLINGER: You -- you place a trigger lock on and it has -- the version I have, a few -- you can buy them at 17th Street Hardware -- has a code, like
a three-digit code. You turn to the code and you pull it apart. That's all it takes. Even -- it took me 3 seconds.
JUSTICE SCALIA: You turn on, you turn on the lamp next to your bed so you can -- you can turn the knob at 3-22-95, and so somebody --
MR. DELLINGER: Well --
CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: Is it like that? Is it a numerical code?
MR. DELLINGER: Yes, you can have one with a numerical code.
CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: So then you turn onthe lamp, you pick up your reading glasses --
(Laughter.)

[Clinotus]

My listen copy and paste method is not working out so well. If you are following this live go to: http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/ they are doing a live transcription.

Last update: Full transcript from the court itself. (http://www.supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/07-290.pdf)

The arguments put forth were good on both sides, though to my ear the Justices seemed to lean against DC. Hellers lawyer started to fall apart a bit at the end though. Check out the transcript it is worth the read.