The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans will begin to hear oral arguments next Tuesday, June 13, in the federal government's appeal of U.S. v. Emerson. The original decision -- handed down on April 7, 1999, by U.S. District Court Judge Sam Cummings of the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas -- dismissed an indictment against Dr. Timothy Joe Emerson based on the judge's opinion that the federal law he was accused of violating (an obscure provision prohibiting the possession of a firearm by anyone under a certain type of court restraining order) represented an unconstitutional exercise of congressional power that violated his individual rights protected by the Second Amendment (see FAX Alert Vol. 6, No. 12 and FAX Alert Vol. 6, No. 33). NRA filed a brief in support of Judge Cummings' ruling on December 20, 1999. Also filing briefs in support of the April ruling were the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and attorney Stephen Halbrook, who successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that certain aspects of the Brady Act were unconstitutional. Rest assured that we will continue to follow this case very closely, and we will report any updates. You can find a copy of NRA's brief on-line, along with our Fact Sheet on U.S. v. Emerson, by going to www.NRAILA.org, and selecting Research & Information.
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