(625 words)
This is another case where the state wants 18, 19, and 20-year-olds to be excluded from The People for Second Amendment purposes, while still treating them as full on adults for other government needs.
—Kristin Worth v. Bob Jacobson, No. 23-2248, slip op. at 3 (8th Cir.)
—id. at 3–4
I’m not digging through this one, these two paragraphs give us the gist of the appeal.
First, the Appellees (good guys) don’t need to submit any expert reports regarding history and tradition. That is the state’s burden. Nor do they have to “prove” that 18-20 year-olds do or do not “comprise the most dangerous and homicidal age group”.
If they were going to look at who comprises the most dangerous and homicidal groups, you would be hard-pressed not to focus on “the 6% or so that commit more than 50% of all violent crime. Of course, that would be “racist!”
This means that Professor Donahue’s expert opinion as expressed in his report is meaningless. Means-end analysis is not allowed. see —District of Columbia v. Heller, 467 U.S. 837 (2008) and —New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. V. Bruen, 142 S.Ct. 2111 (U.S. 2022).
This means that the state rests their entire argument on the report by Saul Cornell, Ph.D.
It is important to note that Saul is not a lawyer. Why is this significant? Because they are not arguing about facts, they are arguing about the law. If they are arguing about the law and what it means, then you must be admitted as an attorney.
When a normal person writes a brief and submits it as an amicus curiae, they do it through counsel. The state didn’t do that. Instead, they brought this guy in as an “expert”.
I can’t locate his declaration, the appendix they reference is not in ECF and I can’t find it in the original case.
On the other hand, I spent a few painful hours, about 10 minutes in total, reading and listening to him.
He is well-spoken, the same way Marx’s writings are to the ignorant.
Regardless, his opinion is not an acceptable supporting argument. The state wants this to become a battle of experts. They bring in their experts to say “guns have always been regulated like X” and we bring in our experts that say “no.” but then have to argue against their expert’s opinion.
At the end of an experts battle, the judge picks one set of experts and says, “you win”.
The actual task of evaluating the law is the judge’s duty. That is literally his job. You will find that most judges are perfectly capable of doing it correctly, when it is not a hot topic.
Conclusion
Another case on its way to the appellate court. They are in the process of setting the date for oral arguments.
Here again is a “law” restricting tools and not punishing those who misuse tools… it’s getting very old.
Cornell stopped publicly debating 2A advocates because he got his @ss handed to him every time. Just like w/ Communism. He sounds good to the ignorant.
If you could actually find his screed, I’m betting it wouldn’t be hard to pick it apart.
Whhhheeewww buddy do they NOT want to start throwing around the language of what groups are most engaged in homicidal and criminal behavior.
I’m hearing rumblings as more people are affected by violent crime in areas with weak DAs and rule of law there is going to be a tipping point where either they only enforce the laws and punish criminals that offend against the Only Ones or they get replaced. That being crimes in gated communities are no gos or people who donated to the right persons but the rest of us are free game.
Either way we get further break down of the social contract.
Here in my own circle there has been a lot of social science types desperately spinning up words as to why an 18 year old can drive but not smoke, drink, own a firearm, rent a hotel or vehicle, BUT can vote (and they want that lowered to 14 because ‘the childrens are our futures’ and be drafted in to war. Either their soft squishy lil brains can handle it or they can’t. If they can’t why have we as a society failed our youth. Going from Washington being a surveyor at 14 in the wilderness with pack and musket to parents being jailed for kids playing in the yard unattended.
The second militia act says 18 is good to go. I don’t know when 10-246 was first put in, but it reads 17 years old.
IIRC, boys as young as 15 served with the militias during the American Revolution — with parents’ approval. Without, the minimum age was 17.
.
The State has to bring in their “experts” to argue what they think the law should be interpreted to say, because the history and tradition from the time of the Founding goes the exact opposite direction of the law and the “experts”.
.
The Constitution, the history, and the facts are not on their side. Expect a lot of table pounding.