Alan Morrison is Benched
Veteran Supreme Court advocate Alan Morrison has been fired and apparently won't be arguing on behalf of the District of Columbia this spring in the pivotal Second Amendment gun rights case D.C. V. Heller. Morrison, who was named special counsel to D.C. Attorney General Linda Singer last year, told Legal Times this morning "I've been told to clear out of my office by next Monday."
The district's brief in the case involving D.C.'s handgun control ordinance is due this Friday and will carry Morrison's name, as well as that of Singer, who announced her resignation Dec. 17 in frustration over clashes with Peter Nickles, Mayor Adrian Fenty's general counsel. Singer's last day on the job is this Friday.
Morrison says Nickles sacked him without giving a reason, "but I assume it is because I was seen as a Linda loyalist." Morrison says he is saddened by the firing and its timing. "I wanted to argue the case and thought I could help the District." Morrison argued 16 cases before the high court as an attorney for the Ralph Nader-founded Public Citizen Litigation Group.
We are gathering more details on this developing story and will update throughout the day.
Fiftycal: As soon as the "right to vote" part is applied to DC I'll consider the ramifications of the rest of the document.
Actually, I take that back. We have no militia, nor any need for one. We don't have hunting, farmland to protect, or any addresses more than 3 minutes from a police station. I guess that provision really doesn't apply to us.
Posted by: dcproud | January 03, 2008 at 02:29 PM
I can't wait for the DC AG to explain how the Constitution doesn't apply to DC.
Posted by: Fiftycal | January 02, 2008 at 06:50 PM