Shipman & Goodwin Files Amicus Brief in Major U.S. Supreme Court Case

HARTFORD, CT—Shipman & Goodwin LLP has filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Rahimi, a case concerning the extent to which the Second Amendment permits the government to disarm individuals who are subject to court orders restraining them from stalking, harassing, or threatening their intimate partners. The brief was filed on behalf of Prosecutors Against Gun Violence, an independent, nonpartisan organization of nearly sixty prosecutors, collectively serving tens of millions of residents, in jurisdictions spanning nearly thirty States.

The amicus brief outlines many of the challenges that prosecutors face in pursuing domestic violence charges. These offenses are among the most serious, as domestic abuse all too often escalates to homicide. They are also among the toughest to prosecute, as victims often fear reprisal for pressing charges and will decline to cooperate for that reason.

The brief concludes by demonstrating how disarming domestic abusers under restraining orders accords with the Second Amendment and with the time-honored principle that courts may deem parties to have forfeited important constitutional rights by engaging in threatening or disruptive behavior.

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Judge Dan Hinde
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