The Uninvited Ombudsman: Levy On Tour
The lamestream media told you:
Nothing.
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
Bob Levy, the man who financed and enabled the D.C. v. Heller gun-ban case, has been touring nationally to promote his new book (The Dirty Dozen) on the 12 worst cases decided by the Supreme Court. He appeared at an Institute for Justice seminar last week, among many stops. (http://www.cato.org/events/calendar.html)
If he had advanced notice on the release of the Heller decision he would go to D.C. for the news, but he says he doesn’t expect any. The Court will announce its announcement when it’s ready, that is all. Could be any day, must be by end of June.
The Justices are not influenced by outside forces between the hearing and the decision, in Levy’s opinion. The Uninvited Ombudsman has received similar remarks from other people in a position to know. State courts are not so insulated from dinner conversations. I’m unsure.
Levy will not be pursuing more gun cases, this was enough. More than enough. He had decided to get involved at the urging of trusted peers at the Cato Institute and in his private practice.
Of two main reasons for picking newcomer Gura as lead attorney, the man was totally dedicated to the issue and the cause, and worked independently to come up to speed beyond what payments could motivate; The fact that he was willing to work for pay that violated minimum wage laws was not overlooked by Levy who had to pay the bills, for nearly five years to get the case heard.
Gura took an enormous gamble in taking the assignment. Was it a career move or folly? What does his wife think? I’ve got a wife — I know how important that element is. Four-plus years of immersion in a crucial American history issue, with inadequate compensation, you have to imagine what his spouse and peers thought.
Levy had to resist enormous pressure to bring in a known heavyweight, like former Solicitor General Ted Olson, but Levy stayed true to his promise to Gura.
Gura is generally seen as a champion, praised widely for an excellent job. He has also been the subject of harsh criticism, for his perceived easy acceptance of “reasonable†gun-control measures, assessed here.
And he, along with Levy, the NRA and everyone else, will stand as villains in the annals of history, if the decision finally comes down that in some way allows the Bradys to claim victory, because the standard of review for “acceptable laws†is sufficiently lax to legislate the right to keep and bear arms out of existence.
Everyone’s speculating on what the decision will be. Like Bob, I’m waiting to see.
The lamestream will issue a verdict almost immediately. Most of them will not read the anticipated lengthy decision — they’ll just read the one-page “syllabus†or summary that accompanies decisions (written by clerks, not the Justices).
Or they will simply quote each other, led by the nose by the Associated Press, Washington Post and New York Times, the most gun-prejudiced organizations in the country. And then they’ll wonder why their credibility is in the toilet. Hint: It’s down there because they’ve earned it.
Counterintuitive Man believes most reporters who could actually read the decision would not be able to tell what it means. This could not be confirmed.
It will probably take me a week, maybe more after the pundits pronounce what the decision means, to issue an assessment. I’ll study it, actually look up the cross references (there will be many), and talk with experts nationwide to understand what the Court has done about our rights, before writing about it. Wait for it.
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