From: Dean Payne <deanp@lsid.hp.com>
Subject: JUDICIAL: Supreme Court gun ruling, using during crime
To: firearms-alert@shell.portal.com
Date: Wed, 6 Dec 95 17:49:11 PST

The Supreme Court has issued another gun law ruling.  The Cornell legal
server is not responding to me, so instead here is the summary of
National Public Radio's report:

 DT: Wednesday, December 6, 1995
 RE: 951206.ATC 3rd Rundown For All Things Considered, Wednesday 12/06/95

 1. USE OF GUNS -- The Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that extra
 penalties for using a gun during the commission of a federal drug crime apply
 only if the defendant actively uses the gun. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports that
 the justices rejected prosecutors' attempts to add five years to the sentences
 of two convicted drug dealers who had guns nearby during their crimes, but
 never showed the guns or referred to them. (4:30)


One defendant had a loaded pistol in a bag locked in the trunk of his
car.  The other had an unloaded derringer locked in a trunk inside her
house.  The Court refused to count these as "using" a gun while
committing a crime.  Both cases came from Washington DC.

Dean Payne
deanp@lsid.hp.com