Guns, Judges, and Trump

Forthcoming in Duke Law Journal Online

Rebecca L. Brown, University of Southern California
Lee Epstein, Washington University in St. Louis
Mitu Gulati, University of Virginia

Abstract
This Essay reports data on the impact of Bruen and its predecessor, Heller, on gun rights cases. Put mildly, the impact was substantial, not only in terms of the number of cases in the courts but also the partisanship displayed in the application of Bruen. And that partisanship increase was particularly large on the part of Trump-appointed judges. The Supreme Court has now decided Rahimi, its first opportunity to apply Bruen. While the Court's new decision blunted some of the sharpest concerns raised by Bruen, it did not eliminate the key concern, recommitting itself to a test that places considerable unguided discretion in judges, inviting partisan bias. The revolution that the Court wrought through Bruen and Heller may have only just begun.

Click here for the paper (on ssrn). Article will be posted soon.
Click here for the Online Appendix. To be posted soon.
Click here for the data. To be posted soon.

Keywords: keywords: Bruen, Trump appointees, Trump judges, Heller, Rahimi, gun rights, gun litigation, Second Amendment, originalism, intermediate scrutiny, means-ends tests