Shipman & Goodwin Files Amicus Brief in Major U.S. Supreme Court Case

Shipman & Goodwin LLP has filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Rahimi, a case concerning the extent to which the Second Amendment permits the government to disarm individuals who are subject to court orders restraining them from stalking, harassing, or threatening their intimate partners. The brief was filed on behalf of Prosecutors Against Gun Violence, an independent, nonpartisan organization of nearly sixty prosecutors, collectively serving tens of millions of residents, in jurisdictions spanning nearly thirty States.

The amicus brief outlines many of the challenges that prosecutors face in pursuing domestic‑violence charges. These offenses are among the most serious, as domestic abuse all too often escalates to homicide. They are also among the toughest to prosecute, as victims often fear reprisal for pressing charges and will decline to cooperate for that reason.

The amicus brief further emphasizes the importance of entering restraining orders that disarm domestic abusers while charges are pending, and it details the inadequacy of proposed alternatives to this common practice.

The brief concludes by demonstrating how disarming domestic abusers under restraining orders accords with the Second Amendment and with the time‑honored principle that courts may deem parties to have forfeited important constitutional rights by engaging in threatening or disruptive behavior. 

Shipman partners Eric Del Pozo and Joette Katz and associates Matthew Gibbons and Sarah Niemiroski authored the amicus brief, which is available here.