The United States Supreme Court recently decided a case about what counts as a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” for purposes of the federal statute prohibiting individuals who have been convicted of such crimes from possessing firearms. I’ve had several questions about whether the ruling affects last year’s Fourth Circuit decision holding that North Carolina assaults generally don’t qualify as “misdemeanor crime[s] of domestic violence.” For the reasons set out below, I don’t think the Supreme Court case clearly overrules the Fourth Circuit’s decision.
Podcast Update: Episode 2 Now Available
In a previous post, I announced the release of our new podcast, Beyond the Bench. The reaction to the first episode was positive, and I’m happy to say that the second episode is now available. It’s on our podcast website, in Apple’s podcast store, and in the leading Android stores. In the new episode, I … Read more