StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Justice John Paul Stevens - Case Study Example

Cite this document
Summary
District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. (2008) marked a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the people's right to own guns and cited the Second Amendment to the United States constitution which gives individuals right to own firearms…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.7% of users find it useful
Justice John Paul Stevens
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Justice John Paul Stevens"

Running Head: District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. (2008) The Dissent of Justice John Paul Stevens :Date:Introduction District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. (2008) marked a landmark case in which the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the people's right to own guns and cited the Second Amendment to the United States constitution which gives individuals right to own firearms. In the history of the United States this was the pioneering case which addressed directly the issues surrounding 'Right to keep and bear arm' provided individuals with rights to possess guns or whether it was a collective right that would apply only to militia who are regulated by the state (Greg, 2008).

Dissenting Opinion of Justice John Paul Stevens One of the most important factors of this case is the dissenting opinion of Justice John Paul Stevens. Justice Stevens stated that the judgment reached by the court was a strained decision which was also supported by a reading which was unpersuasive. He continued to say that the decision had overturned a precedent which had stood for a long time and also that the court had bestowed the law in a dramatic upheaval. Stevens states that it was notable of the amendment because it had omitted any of the statement of the needs that were associated with the individual's rights to utilize firearms when hunting or also in self defense and that this rights were present in the Declarations of Rights of Pennsylvania and Vermont (Gary, 2008).

The dissent of Justice Stevens can be seen to be focused on four points of disagreement. One of the point of disagreement is that the Founders did not intend to make the individuals rights in possession of guns an aspect of the Second Amendment and if they intended it they would have made that clause expressly in the Second Amendment. The other point of disagreement is that the preamble concerning the militia and that the exact phrase which mentions to keep and bear arms is only applicable to the state militias only and not all individuals according to the Second Amendment.

The third point of disagreement is that most of the lower courts emphasized on the collective right and he did this by citing Miller decision which involves stare decisis and this can be overturned only during great perils. The fourth point of disagreement was that the court had not put into consideration of the existing legislations about gun control as being unconstitutional legislations. In his final remarks during the dissent he states that the court was trying to make the people believe that The Framers chose to limit available tools to elected officials who wanted regulate weapon usage by civilian.

He concluded that he would not conclude that such a choice was made by the Framers. This dissent was joined by Justices Ruth Dader Ginsburt, David Souter and Stephen Breyer (District of Columbia, 2008).Conclusion: Justice Stevens approach to the Second Amendment Justice Steven approach to the Second Amendment had an outlook of the post modern approach to the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment main purpose was to safeguard the individual's rights and this is not what Justice Stevens dissented for in the case.

Justice Stevens sought to limit the individual's right in possessing fire arms and also sought to remind the court that the Founders would have raised the issue in the Second Amendment. He is of the view that the Second Amendment had directed this right to the State's militia and not to civilians. He also questions if the Second Amendment had limited the powers of the elected officials in limiting the individuals' use of guns. This can be seen as a post modern approach to the Second Amendment (Gary, 2008).

ReferencesDistrict of Columbia, et al.(2008), Petitioners v. Dick Anthony Heller. 554 U.S. ____ , page 62.Gary Emerling (2008). "Fenty Arms Self With New Lawyer to Defend Gun Ban."Washington Times Retrieved on 19th February, 2009 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/04/AR2008030402005.html Greg Simmons (2008). "D.C Officials Weigh Keeping Semiautomatic Pistols Illegal after Blanket Handgun Ban is Struck Down. Fox News. Retrieved on 19th February, 2009 from http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,377203,00.html

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Justice John Paul Stevens Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Justice John Paul Stevens Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1501095-justice-john-paul-stevens
(Justice John Paul Stevens Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
Justice John Paul Stevens Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1501095-justice-john-paul-stevens.
“Justice John Paul Stevens Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1501095-justice-john-paul-stevens.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Justice John Paul Stevens

The Chevron USA

Thus in the instant case, Justice stevens examined the statutory text of the Clean Air Act and its legislative history.... The Chevron USA v.... Natural Resources Defense Council has been the most cited U.... .... administrative law decision of all time.... In Chevron (1984), the Supreme Court took the stand that when the Congress had not made known its intent on any area of law, the court had the duty to examine the Agency's interpretation on the same area of law as to its reasonableness....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Does Death Penalty Successfully Deter Crimes

The very essence of conviction is justice: no one can give justice if the prosecution made is another crime that can further impaired our ethical standard.... This essay describes the problem of death penalty and focuses on it's ability to successfully deter crimes....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Eminent Domain Case Study

Justice John Paul Stevens said local officials rather than federal judges, know best in deciding whether a development project will benefit the community.... stevens further ruled that "states are within their rights to pass additional laws restricting condemnations if residents are overly burdened.... Sounds generous, but whom is to decide what constitutes overly burdened How does a single citizen stop the arbitrary and capricious act of the local government justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the only rational justice stated in her dissent that this ruling was nothing more than well heeled people enjoying "disproportionate influence and power"....
2 Pages (500 words) Case Study

U.S. Supreme Court

Obamas official nominee to replace retiring Associate Justice John Paul Stevens in 2010.... 2010) that led to her nomination as : “Elena is respected and admired not just for her intellect and record of achievement, but also for her temperament, her openness to a broad array of viewpoints, her habit — to borrow a phrase from Justice [john paul] Stevens — of understanding before disagreeing, her fair-mindedness and skill as a consensus builder.... For this particular essay paper, I have chosen to discuss the successful nomination and confirmation process that Associate Supreme Court justice Elena Kagan underwent as a nominee of Pres....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Servicemens Readjustment Act

military forces.... Other merits comprised of low-budget secured loan, low-interest debts to begin an income earning activity, living expenses to attend… The merits of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act are proposed to assist troopers settle down to citizen life subsequent provision This act came in two sections: the Montgomery GI Bill and Servicemens Readjustment Act of 1944....
6 Pages (1500 words) Term Paper

Civil Rights for Murderers with Intellectual Disability

Firstly, it is the only punishment that can make sure that justice is met for the person murdered.... Since murder entails taking away the life of a person, then to have justice equally served for a murdered person is to have the guilt person sentenced to death (Blume, Johnson and Seeds 89).... n top of that, another purpose of a death warrant in our criminal justice system is to issue a warning to those people committing murder but most important to those who want to start it....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

The Connection Between the Constitution and the Law

hellip; The Chief justice puts the facts of the case forward, makes known his views and calls on each and every one of the Associate Justices, in order of seniority, to give their own views and reasons for their decisions.... The Chief justice then declares the majority opinion and assigns the writing of the majority opinion to any of the justices although if his view coincides with the majority, he can write it himself.... rdquo; Through justice Holmes in the case of Abrams v....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Suit about Pledge of Allegiance

This ruling is criticized by Justice John Paul Stevens in the sense that the Supreme Court should not have allowed the domestic issue to bar it from taking a constitutional view of the case brought forth.... The author examines the suit about the teacher Elk Grove who made it a routine to begin school days by reciting the pledge of allegiance, the words “under God” but he was sued on the fact that students should not be made to listen to the words “ under  God” because this violates first amendment… The Elk Grove unified school district v....
6 Pages (1500 words) Assignment
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us