The Rise and Demise of Collective Rights Interpretation: History, Luck, and Occasionally Fraud

Heller tried to kill the collective rights interpretation, but the McDonald dissents suggest it entered the realm of the undead. Despite impressive historical and textual analysis against it, the collective rights view has twice mustered four votes on the Supreme Court, and Justice Ginsburg has publicly expressed hopes that it may eventually muster a majority. The subject thus merits a discussion of how it originated and flourished briefly, until meeting its match in Heller. Two cases, Dred Scott and United States v. Miller, merit particular emphasis. Both cases fall under the law of unintended consequences, and recent research has uncovered a secret history strongly suggesting that both were collusive.

DAVID T. HARDY, ESQ.
Author of the weblog http://armsandthelaw.com