In a recent ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, a federal ban on felons possessing firearms has survived a constitutional challenge. The court indicated that, despite a Supreme Court ruling creating a new test for Second Amendment cases, it was restricted by its own precedent from deeming the law unconstitutional.
The three-judge panel of the Atlanta-based court turned down Andre Dubois’s attempt to declare the law unconstitutional on Tuesday. The opinion was written by Chief Judge William Pryor and was supported by Judges Robin Rosenbaum and Nancy Abudu. Unfortunately for Dubois, according to the court, a 2010 circuit ruling that upholds the law remains intact “until it is overruled or undermined to the point …”.
Interestingly, this decision comes after the Third Circuit took a contrary stance earlier, stating that the ban failed the history, tradition test.
This case once again brings the Second Amendment issues into the spotlight, and undoubtedly, legal professionals will be watching closely as similar cases unfold across different circuit courts. Considering the different interpretations, this could potentially lead to a situation where the Supreme Court may need to step in for bringing uniformity into the law again.
For more comprehensive coverage on the court proceedings, refer to the detailed article on Bloomberg Law.