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Palmer vs DC - WIN! Ban on Carry declared unconstitutional


Molly B.

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First of all, Kokesh is a moron. Now that we've got that out of the way, Judge Scullin didn't declare the ordinances void ab initio and even if he did declare them void as if they never existed and Kokesh somehow gets his conviction for possessing a long gun vacated (not a chance), there's still the drug conviction. Doesn't matter if the flat ban is unconstitutional when you have shrooms on you and a gun, it's still illegal to possess a firearm and Schedule I narcotics...simultaneously, no less (if you're gonna get raided, get rid of the drugs and that goes back to my point about him being an idiot).

If the conviction for the possession were vacated though, would he have grounds to overturn the others? In that case the unconstitutional arrest would have lead to the search of his home. I don't think he'll get out of anything personally, but I assumed that unlawful arrest = unlawful search = unlawful evidence.
Judge Scullin declared the flat ban on carriage of loaded handguns in public in the Distri t of Columbia to be unconstitutional. The brandishing statute stays in place, as it should. By definition, Kokesh brandished a shotgun, on video posted online, with D.C. landmarks in the background. Mark my words, the conviction will stand. Even if Scullin had said "Oh and these laws were never on the books in the first place" he'd still have committed a felony by bringing an unregistered shotgun into the District and carrying it openly, brandishing it. They can arrest you for something you do on video and are stupid enough to post it on the internet. Recording the crime is enough PC for police to obtain a search warrant. heck, he even told them to look at surveillance footage because they thought he might've done it in front of a green screen. He's a serial offender by definition. No judge in their right mind would give a motion to vacate his sentence more than the time it takes to read it before denying it. The warrant was obtained based on the video of him racking that shotgun in D.C., no questions, it is a matter of fact stipulated to by Kokesh himself. The warrant was lawfully obtained and properly served. The evidence is admissible even if he had been cracked for carrying a gun on his person and the police found drugs on him. The arrest is lawful. The evidence is admissible. The conviction will stand.

 

It's like saying that since you were stopped by a LEO for speeding prior to the Moore opinion being published. The LEO conducts a Terry Stop and Frisk, finds a loaded, uncased firearm on your person, places you under arrest for AUUW (the Class 4 not Class 3, pre-Moore), and during.the inventory conducted by the arresting LE agency subsequent to the traffic stop, the police find a body in your trunk, and arguing that you can't be charged with homicide or whatever happened to the person in your trunk. It doesn't matter if the AUUW offense could be vacated since that search subsequent to arrest is considered lawful under the good-faith exemption to the exclusionary rule. The same principle applies here. The search and subsequent discovery of the body (evidence) would be considered lawful and the evidence lawfully obtained under the good-faith exemption to the exclusionary rule.

 

The memorandum opinion contained the words "ready-to-use handgun" not "ready-to-use firearm." One cannot draw an inference that Scullin's opinion is broad. In fact, it is narrow in scope and unambiguous. Plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief in the form of enjoining D.C. from enforcing its flat-ban on carrying handguns outside the home as well as a separate Equal Protection claim. They did not seek to brandish firearms in public.

 

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According to Emily Miller:

 

"STUNNING DEVELOPMENT: DC Police Chief Lanier just told force not to arrest a person who can legally carry a gun in DC or any state."

"More -- DC police chief using guidance from AG -- grants full reciprocity for all open and concealed carry from others states."

 

"Only gun arrests now in DC can be DC residents with unregistered guns and non-residents who are prohibited under federal laws."

 

https://twitter.com/EmilyMiller

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According to Emily Miller:

 

"STUNNING DEVELOPMENT: DC Police Chief Lanier just told force not to arrest a person who can legally carry a gun in DC or any state."

 

"More -- DC police chief using guidance from AG -- grants full reciprocity for all open and concealed carry from others states."

 

"Only gun arrests now in DC can be DC residents with unregistered guns and non-residents who are prohibited under federal laws."

 

https://twitter.com/EmilyMiller

That just made my drive to Virginia about 1 hour quicker. PA turnpike and through DC instead of I-65 to I-64.

 

"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it." -Norman Schwarzkopf

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According to Emily Miller:

 

"STUNNING DEVELOPMENT: DC Police Chief Lanier just told force not to arrest a person who can legally carry a gun in DC or any state."

 

"More -- DC police chief using guidance from AG -- grants full reciprocity for all open and concealed carry from others states."

 

"Only gun arrests now in DC can be DC residents with unregistered guns and non-residents who are prohibited under federal laws."

https://twitter.com/EmilyMiller

 

That just made my drive to Virginia about 1 hour quicker. PA turnpike and through DC instead of I-65 to I-64.

"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it." -Norman Schwarzkopf

 

That is truly an INCREDIBLE step. Let's hope this sticks long-term.

 

Wow, non-residents can now carry in D.C. but not in IL (nor in quite a few other states).

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According to Emily Miller:

 

"STUNNING DEVELOPMENT: DC Police Chief Lanier just told force not to arrest a person who can legally carry a gun in DC or any state."

 

"More -- DC police chief using guidance from AG -- grants full reciprocity for all open and concealed carry from others states."

 

"Only gun arrests now in DC can be DC residents with unregistered guns and non-residents who are prohibited under federal laws."

 

https://twitter.com/EmilyMiller

 

Makes me wish I had a ticket to DC right about now, normally I'd never say those words together like that, but this time I think I mean it

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Is this ruling limited to only handguns or any legal firearm such as shotgun or rifle? Will this ruling effect Adam Kokesh sentencing since one of the 2 crimes that he pled guilty to was a felony charge for illegally carrying?

It's handguns only. Rifles/shotgun carry bans are a separate prohibition that was not injuncted against.

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Now I'm convinced Guam has a crystal ball to look into the future. They know May Issue is the next fight once DC is settled.

"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it." -Norman Schwarzkopf

Guam is under the jurisdiction of the 9th Circuit, which found may issue unconstitutional several months ago. While that ruling was cited in Palmer it was already binding in Guam, no crystal ball required

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To me the most noteworthy point in the news accounts was this from the Washington Times:

 

 

The ruling, five years after the original case was filed, took city officials by surprise and sent police, politicians and attorneys scrambling for a response.

 

DC had five years to prepare, the defeats in Heller, McDonald, Shepard, Moore, Peruta, and any number of other 2A cases to serve as examples, and this decision caught them totally by surprise? At this point a 2A loss for a city like DC should be anything but surprising.

 

 

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With the number of federal buildings off-limits to firearms in D.C., which I believe includes many of the memorials, I hope all residents, non-residents, and especially tourists brush up on the federal property/building restrictions before carrying.

The kicker is some of the lands are National Parks, some are federal buildings, etc etc. it's a huge difference if one was on the sidewalk vs on the grass.

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With the number of federal buildings off-limits to firearms in D.C., which I believe includes many of the memorials, I hope all residents, non-residents, and especially tourists brush up on the federal property/building restrictions before carrying.

All those carry restrictions are decades behind in being updated or just done away with. Government property and buildings open to the public should be required to respect the civil rights of the public, not put a blanket infringement on them.

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Just read Emily Miller's Facebook posts. She pays something most of us have not considered -- ammo. The Palmer ruling neglected to mention ammo for those handguns. If you don't have a registration to purchase ammo you can still be arrested for carrying ammo in DC.

 

"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it." -Norman Schwarzkopf

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Yeah you can UOC but that's about it. Then again most judges would find it ludicrous that the ban has been stricken but you still can't even have shell casings much less ammo unless it's "registered." I think the entire registration scheme is going to be spanked by the DC Circuit and if SCOTUS really wants to spank DC for instituting a mildly watered fowm version of almost the exact same law which was struck down in Heller, they will grant cert. It's a shame they don't post the schedule for orals including panel composition until the day of orals.

 

Whoever asked if Judge Sentelle still on the bench, answer is yes. He is still hearing cases. He is senior status but still sits on panels.

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

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Just read Emily Miller's Facebook posts. She pays something most of us have not considered -- ammo. The Palmer ruling neglected to mention ammo for those handguns. If you don't have a registration to purchase ammo you can still be arrested for carrying ammo in DC.

 

"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it." -Norman Schwarzkopf

From the news articles it seems they will not be enforcing the ammo thing for non-residents

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