Firearms litigation poses some of the most novel questions being litigated in our courts, spanning constitutional, statutory, and policy questions. This conference will help the legal community and policymakers think through some of these questions and create a framework to resolve them responsibly.
"Firearms Litigation: Liability, Regulation, and the Constitution" is co-sponsored by the Center on Civil Justice at NYU School of Law, the Duke Center for Firearms Law, and the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School. The event will take place December 1, 2020, from 1pm-5pm.
Panel 1: Liability Litigation: Products, Preemption , and the PLCAA
Suits for damages by private parties against gun manufacturers and others raise a number of important legal questions. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), which bars suits against gun manufacturer absent a “predicate exception,” were centered, and its interpretation raises numerous interesting issues, from intent of the drafters to federalism more broadly. Conflict between the Second Circuit in Beretta and the Connecticut Supreme Court in Soto, which differ on the breadth of the PLCAA's “predicate exception” and the extent to which a statute a gun manufacturer is accused of violating must directly regulate firearms, laid a framework for discussion.
Moderator: Abbe Gluck (Yale)
Panelists (in formation): Mark Lanier (Lanier Law Firm), Alla Lefkowitz (Everytown), Timothy Lytton (Georgia State), William Tong (Connecticut Attorney General)
Panel 2: Constitutional Litigation
Challenges to federal, state, and local laws and regulations raise Second Amendment issues and Federalism-related policy questions. The panel examined the legal and Constitutional issues presented in litigation over gun rights in the face of regulation and legislation.
Moderator: Adam Skaggs (Giffords)
Panelists (in formation): Joseph Blocher (Duke), Bob Cottrol (GW), Mary Anne Franks (Miami), Deepak Gupta (Gupta Wessler), David Kopel (Independence Institute, Duke)
Panel 3: The Future of Litigation Strategies
The ultimate question of the conference is how litigation -- both affirmative and defensive -- should look. We looked at strategies invoked by practicing counsel, as well as procedural rules the courts should apply, and statutory policy recommendations that would govern the scope and shape of litigation.
Moderator: Darrell Miller (Duke)
Panelists (in formation): Christopher Boehning (Paul Weiss), Evan Chesler (Cravath), Troy McKenzie (NYU), Erin Murphy (Kirkland), Hannah Shearer (Giffords)
This event has been approved for 4.5 CLE credit hours in the Areas of Professional Practice. The credit will be both transitional and non-transitional, and the event is appropriate for both newly admitted and experienced attorneys. To read the CLE materials, please click here.