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Top Supreme Court Law Firm Uses New Online Constitutional Source Library to Prep for Gun Law Cert Petition
Online Resource Saves Law Firm Time, Money
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, a leading law firm, is using the collection of founding documents compiled on ConSource, the first comprehensive online collection of Constitution-related source materials, to research and present the District of Columbia’s position that the District’s handgun ban withstands Constitutional scrutiny. These documents will play an important role in the petition for certiorari presented to the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to overturn the March 9 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit holding that the District’s law violates the Second Amendment.
“This case has great implications for gun laws across the country,” said Tom Goldstein, the head of Akin Gump’s Supreme Court practice. “It is extremely important that we get the constitutional history right. With the help of ConSource, we will be able to access the full documentary record of the Second Amendment in presenting the case to the Supreme Court.”
Through ConSource, Akin Gump has access to digitized collections relating to the Second Amendment: the Anti-Federalist Papers, the state ratification debates for seven states, and the legislative history of the Bill of Rights. Online access to these documents will drastically cut the research time necessary to research the case.
“Akin Gump is using this resource in one of many ways we envisioned this project could be used,” said Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director of The Constitutional Sources Project, which is creating ConSource. “Attorneys and practice groups are able to easily find prominent and obscure historical documents relating to different provisions in the Constitution via ConSource, and will soon be able to create their own collections, post briefs, and publish or block access to their practice groups’ work product.”
