Vermont v. Misch (Vt. 2021) is a steaming disaster of a decision. Why? As is often the case with gun law decisions, it is likely the person arguing for his rights. Max Misch is by this account, a white supremacist who cannot avoid physical confrontation and racial slurs.
You may be asking why this matters? If the argument is valid, it should not matter who is making the argument. In some universe, sure, but especially in a small state like Vermont, I am sure Misch's name is well-known, and judges are humans, too.
The person who challenges a gun law should be squeaky clean (like Dick Heller, a DC cop), and not trying to be his own lawyer. I even have a name for this particular form of how to create bad case law: Onderdonking, named after WILLIAM H. ONDERDONK v. HANDGUN PERMIT REVIEW BOARD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES OF MARYLAND, 44 Md. App. 132 (1979). He represented himself, with grand ambitions and a not very strong argument, setting a precedent that will haunt Maryland gun rights for decades.
No matter how sure you are that you are the perfect citizen with the power of truth on your side, let the experts do this, okay?
Let the experts handle this. That's exactly why we are in the madhouse we are in today. Exactly why can't these experts fix a facet.
ReplyDeleteBy experts, I meant the cadre of Second Amendment lawyers that have won a number of important cases over the years. Admittedly, AW cases are unlikely to be won as long as the media keep telling the same story.
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