Neil Gorsuch For The Supreme Court
BY Herschel Smith
7 years, 9 months ago
Well, Trump has nominated Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court. He is an apt replacement for Scalia, and as best as I can tell is more like him than not, and in fact may have exactly the same jurisprudence. Scalia had a high view of police powers, and it appears that Neil Gorsuch does too.
I’ve made my views known about his concurrence in Rodriguez. I don’t like that part of his jurisprudence. But assuming that his view wins the day and LEOs are determined to have the right to disarm innocent handgun carriers because it makes the LEO “feel” safer, this raises a whole host of questions for LEOs.
When do you ask the driver to present his weapon to you? Under what circumstances? Do you do that, or do you put your own hand on his firearm? If you do, what information do you need to know about the firearm? What if he is appendix carrying? Do you risk a negligent discharge that destroys his femoral artery and thus kills him as he bleeds out before help arrives?
Do you sustain any risk by asking the carrier to put his own hands on his weapon? How do you know intent? How does he know your intent? What if the individual doesn’t want to put his hand on his weapon in the presence of a LEO? What do you do then? Do you cuff him? Does that violate his rights against illegal search and seizure?
Listen to me if you’re a LEO. You had better think about these things. As I’ve said before, I think it’s profoundly stupid to put your hands on another man’s weapon, and I think it’s profoundly stupid to ask him to do that. But if you’re hell bent on doing that because it feels good, you’d better think through this thing. This has the chance to get dicey.
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