Will Sotomayor recuse herself from Chicago gun case?

October 5, 9:55 AMGun Rights ExaminerDavid Codrea

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(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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With the Supreme Court's acceptance of McDonald v. Chicago, we now begin the waiting game. Naturally, both pro-rights and anti-choice camps are speculating on how the High Court will rule, and of particular interest is how the newest judge, Sonia Sotomayor, will factor in on the decision.

There's a meme wending its way around internet forums and the like that she'll recuse herself, since she already ruled at the circuit court level that the Second Amendment does not restrict the power of states to infringe on the right to keep and bear arms.  Some seem to be under the impression that she ruled on McDonald, which she did not (she ruled on Maloney v. Rice), and because of that, the prospect of overruling herself will present a judicial ethics conflict.

First, Sotomayor's decisions were issued from the 2nd Circuit. McDonald comes from the 7th. Here's what she said in the past, per Declan McCullagh at CBSNews' "Political Hotsheet":

In a 2004 criminal case, U.S. v. Sanchez-Villar, a three-judge panel that included Sotomayor wrote that "the right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right."

Another case involved a fellow named James Maloney who was arrested...for possessing a nunchaku...in his home. Maloney claimed that the Second Amendment rendered the state law banning nunchakus unconstitutional.

A three-judge panel including Sotomayor unanimously rejected his claim in January 2009, ruling that the Second Amendment "imposes a limitation on only federal, not state, legislative efforts."

So--back to the issue of recusal: I wouldn't count on it.

From a "Political Hotsheet" update:

On Tuesday, Sotomayor said she would recuse herself if ruling -- effectively on whether to overrule herself -- only in the Maloney case...

She did not agree, however, to recuse herself if the Supreme Court hears another case involving very similar material from the 7th or 9th circuits.

Here's what I would count on: Sotomayor is still very much an influence--and still very much a danger.

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Knox featured in documentary

"Not Without a Fight," the documentary featuring interviews with gun rights activists, has added a couple more raw footage clips, this time with Jeff Knox.

Click here for segment #1 and here for segment #2.

Also see footage with Kenn Blanchard and yours truly.

I see filmmaker Max Lemus has his new website up. I know what I'm adding to my bookmarks and link list.

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WND quotes GRE

For those of you who didn't read yesterday's column, I added a note about WorldNetDaily's article on the Montana gun lawsuit, where they quote from my related story.

Click here to read Bob Unruh's report.