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District Attorneys from Around the Country Join Together to Urge High Court to Uphold Existing Laws Against Illegal Guns
San Francisco, (CA) and New York, (NY) – San Francisco District Attorney Kamala D. Harris and Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced today that they are leading District Attorneys from around the country in urging the United States Supreme Court not to erode criminal laws against illegal guns.
Eighteen elected District Attorneys, representing jurisdictions that include the cities of New York, San Francisco, Boston, Dallas, Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit, San Diego, Oakland, and Atlanta have joined a friend of the court (Amicus) brief with the United States Supreme Court in the matter of District of Columbia v. Heller.
In Heller, the Court has agreed to decide the constitutionality of the District of Columbia’s ban on handguns and whether a criminal conviction under the ban is valid under the Second Amendment. The lower court earlier struck down the D.C. law, ruling that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear handguns. In agreeing to review the case, the Court is poised to address the meaning of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution for the first time since 1939. The Court’s decision could have a profound impact on the enforcement of state and local laws against illegal guns.
“We have taken the lead, with the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, to impress on the Supreme Court the possible implications of the case for New York and other jurisdictions with strong gun laws,” said Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau. “We have made a major effort to prosecute people who violate the gun laws. If you get caught in Manhattan with an illegal gun, you can expect to end up behind bars.”
“We are respectfully urging the Justices to avoid potentially negative, unintended, and wholly unnecessary consequences of an affirming opinion in this case,” said San Francisco District Attorney Kamala D. Harris. “Getting illegal guns off our streets is one of my Office’s highest priorities. We strongly oppose any restrictions that would tie our hands and halt our ability to bring perpetrators to justice. I thank my fellow District Attorneys for joining me in highlighting this critical issue.”
In filing the brief, the District Attorneys are highlighting the compelling interest they have in the outcome of District of Columbia v. Heller and the high priority they individually and collectively place on the prosecution of criminals who commit gun-related offenses. An affirming opinion by the U.S. Supreme Court in Heller could cast doubt upon the constitutionality of criminal gun laws the District Attorneys believe to be critical to public safety. The reasoning in the lower court opinion, if adopted wholesale by the U.S. Supreme Court, could erode many existing laws that have been built up over the past few decades against the illegal possession of guns.
The District Attorneys’ co-counsel, Professor Laurie Levenson of Loyola Law School, noted that if the Court strikes down the D.C. law, the validity of existing laws against illegal guns could be called into question as well.
“These public officials have made it clear what is at stake in this case – it is an issue of public safety,” said Professor Laurie Levinson. “The District Attorneys who signed this brief have done a great public service. They have let the Justices know exactly how a decision in this case is likely to impair law enforcement's ability to do its job. That is an interest that no one can afford to ignore.”
The District Attorneys’ brief will be the only one of its kind before the Court in this case. Representing the views of elected prosecutors from across the country, the brief will express the concerns of law enforcement officials charged with the protection of, collectively, nearly 27 million people residing in their jurisdictions.
The brief will be filed on Friday, January 11, 2008. The Court is scheduled to take up the matter in March 2008.
The District Attorneys who have signed on to the brief include, Alameda County, California District Attorney Thomas J. Orloff; Albany County, New York, District Attorney P. David Soares; Anoka County, Minnesota, District Attorney Robert M.A. Johnson; Bronx County District Attorney Robert T. Johnson; Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes; Calaveras County, California, District Attorney Jeffrey Tuttle; Cook County, Illinois, State’s Attorney Richard A. Devine; Dallas County, Texas, District Attorney Craig T. Watkins; Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Paul L. Howard Jr.; Hennepin County, Minnesota, County Attorney Michael O. Freeman; Marin County, California, District Attorney Edward S. Berberian; Prince George’s County, Maryland, State’s Attorney Glenn F. Ivey; Queens County District Attorney Richard A. Brown; San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis; Suffolk County, Massachusetts, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley; Wayne County, Michigan, Prosecuting Attorney Kym L. Worthy.
Illegal guns have been one of the top priorities of District Attorney Harris’ first term in office. The San Francisco District Attorney created a gun policy, established a gun specialist team with the support of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and has more than doubled the conviction rate at trial for gun crimes, from 43 percent to 90 percent. In 2007, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom signed into law a package of strict anti-gun legislation co-authored by District Attorney Harris that will make San Francisco the U.S. city with the nation’s toughest gun laws.
Manhattan District Attorney Morgenthau created a Firearms Trafficking Unit in 1993 to prosecute major gun possession and trafficking cases. The Office enhances its prosecution of firearms cases by debriefing all defendants arrested for selling or possessing illegal firearms. The office also worked closely with the New York State Legislature and the Governor’s Office to reform the state’s gun laws, increasing the penalties for illegal sale and possession of weapons.
A joint statement by the participating District Attorneys, describing the brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, is attached to this release.
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Amicus Brief Background
- Eighteen elected District Attorneys from around the country are filing a “friend of the court” (Amicus) brief in District of Columbia v. Heller, which is scheduled to be heard before the United States Supreme Court. A list of the District Attorneys follows below.
- Representing the views of elected prosecutors from across America, this brief expresses the concerns of the highest law enforcement officials charged with the protection of, collectively, nearly 27 million Americans residing in their jurisdictions.
- The District Attorneys filed this brief because they individually and collectively place a high priority on the successful prosecution of criminals who commit gun-related offenses. They, therefore, have a compelling interest in the outcome of District of Columbia v. Heller because an affirming opinion could cast doubt upon the constitutionality of criminal gun laws the District Attorneys believe to be critical to public safety.
- In Heller, the Court will decide whether a criminal conviction under the District of Columbia’s handgun ban is valid under the Second Amendment. The decision below found that the D.C. law violated a private right to bear arms under the Second Amendment.
- The District Attorneys strongly urge the Supreme Court to agree that the lower court decision should be reversed and will urge the Court to avoid potentially negative, unintended, and wholly unnecessary consequences of an affirming opinion in this case. They will argue that an affirmance could inadvertently call into question the well settled Second Amendment principles under which countless state and local criminal firearms laws have been upheld by courts nationwide.
- Specifically, the lower court’s decision creates a private constitutional right to possess any firearm that is a “lineal descendant” of a colonial-era weapon and that is in “common use” with a “military application” today. Under this standard, a vast range of criminal laws nationwide, including laws where possession of a firearm is an element of an offense, could be subject to a new round of constitutional challenges.
- Regardless of their outcome, such constitutional challenges to existing criminal gun laws could create substantial uncertainty in the lower courts and strain the already slim resources of lower courts and the criminal justice system. Prosecutors could be hindered in their ability to enforce the criminal firearms laws that they have long understood to be valid Significantly while the courts struggle to determine the scope and application of the Second Amendment.
- The District Attorneys will urge the Court to issue a narrowly-drawn opinion to discourage the inevitable flood of constitutional challenges that could ensue from the uncertainty engendered by an affirmance, provide the guidance necessary for the lower courts to properly analyze those challenges that are mounted, and preserve their ability to enforce the existing laws against illegal guns that are not before the Court today.
List of District Attorneys Joining the Amicus Brief
- The Honorable Edward S. Berberian is a career prosecutor and the elected District Attorney of Marin County, California. He represents a population of 250,000 residents.
- The Honorable Richard A. Brown was recently elected to his fifth term as District Attorney of Queens County in the City of New York. He represents the approximately 2.3 million residents in the County of Queens.
- The Honorable Daniel F. Conley is in his second term as District Attorney for Suffolk County in Massachusetts. Including the city of Boston, New England’s largest city, he represents a population of approximately 690,000. Suffolk County operates a specially designated “Gun Court.” He serves as Vice-president on the Board of Directors for the National District Attorney's Association.
- The Honorable Richard A. Devine is serving his third term as the elected State’s Attorney for Cook County, Illinois, the nation’s second largest state prosecutor’s office. He represents the 5.3 million residents of the nation’s second largest county, which includes the City of Chicago and its suburbs.
- The Honorable Bonnie M. Dumanis is the elected District Attorney of San Diego County, California. She represents the nation’s sixth-largest county with a population of 3 million people.
- The Honorable Michael O. Freeman is serving his third term as the elected County Attorney of Hennepin County, Minnesota. He represents 1.2 million residents of Minnesota’s largest county, which includes the City of Minneapolis and its suburbs.
- The Honorable Kamala D. Harris is serving her second term as the elected District Attorney of San Francisco County, California. She represents approximately 775,000 residents of the fourth-largest city in California.
- The Honorable Paul L. Howard, Jr. is serving his third term as the elected District Attorney of Fulton County, Georgia. He represents approximately 1 million residents, including the City of Atlanta, which has long been beset by gun violence.
- The Honorable Charles J. Hynes is serving his fifth term as District Attorney of Kings County (Brooklyn), New York. Brooklyn, with a population of approximately 2.5 million people, has a court specifically dedicated to the adjudication of felony-level gun cases.
- The Honorable Glenn F. Ivey is serving his second term as the elected State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County, Maryland. The County covers the eastern border of Washington, D.C. and has 860,000 residents.
- The Honorable Robert M.A. Johnson has been the prosecutor and corporate counsel for Anoka County, Minnesota since 1982. He represents a population of 320,000 residents and is the past president of the National District Attorneys Association.
- The Honorable Robert T. Johnson has been the District Attorney of Bronx County, New York since 1989. The Bronx, with a population of over 1.3 million, is one of the five counties contained within New York City.
- The Honorable Robert M. Morgenthau has served as the District Attorney for New York County since 1975. As the District Attorney for Manhattan, he represents more than 1.6 million people.
- The Honorable Thomas J. Orloff is serving his fourth term as the elected District Attorney of Alameda County, California, which includes the City of Oakland. He represents 1.5 million residents.
- The Honorable P. David Soares is the elected District Attorney of Albany County, New York. Elected in 2004, he represents 300,000 residents.
- The Honorable Jeffrey Tuttle was first elected District Attorney of Calaveras County, California in 2002. Now in his second term, he represents a population of 50,000 residents.
- The Honorable Craig T. Watkins is the elected District Attorney of Dallas County, Texas. He represents 2.3 million residents in the nation’s ninth-largest city.
- The Honorable Kym L. Worthy is the elected Prosecuting Attorney of Wayne County, Michigan, which includes the City of Detroit. Elected in 2004, she represents approximately 2.2 million residents.
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