UF College of Law expert available to comment on Chicago gun control case awaiting decision by U.S. Supreme Court: McDonald v. City of Chicago (08-15

June 24, 2010

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — With only a few days left in its current term, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to release its decision in McDonald v. City of Chicago as early as Thursday, June 24.

This widely anticipated decision involves not only the legality of a handgun ban in Chicago and Oak Park, Ill., but also the important question as to whether state and local governments can, through the theory of incorporation, violate the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms. In 2008, the Supreme Court found that the federal government and the District of Columbia could not violate Second Amendment rights, but left open the question that the court is expected to address in the McDonald case. The ramifications of the court’s decision will be felt not only in the nation’s courts but also in state legislatures, in city and town councils and in political debates during this heated election season.

UF College of Law expert Michael Allan Wolf is available to discuss the case and the ramifications of the court’s decision. Dr. Wolf, a lawyer and historian, is the Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law, whose expertise includes constitutional law and history, including the incorporation doctrine that is the key issue in McDonald v. City of Chicago. He can be reached at 352-273-0934 (office), 352-359-2497 (cell) or wolfm@law.ufl.edu. View his faculty page at http://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/wolf/.

The University of Florida has a broadcast studio equipped for live or live-to-tape interviews through our KU digital satellite uplink. For radio networks, we also have an ISDN live for clean audio interviews. To contact the UF College of Law Communications Office, call 352-273-0650 or e-mail mlwalker@law.ufl.edu.