By John R. Byrne
Not from our district but notable. Judge Mizelle from the Middle District of Florida dismissed an indictment charging a defendant for possessing a firearm in a federal facility (in this case, a post office). The defendant--who was a US Postal Service employee--argued the statute was unconstitutional as applied to him because it violated his Second Amendment rights.
Mizelle agreed. She reasoned that the Supreme Court's decision in N .Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’ n v. Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022) required there to be "historical support for [the statute]’s application to" the defendant. She found none.
"Post offices have existed since the founding, as have threats to the safety of postal workers and the public entering those locations. Yet the historical record yields no 'distinctly similar historical regulation addressing' those safety problems by regulating firearms in post offices."
Will be interesting to see how courts will apply Bruen in other contexts. In the meantime, if you want to know more about the US Postal Service, the opinion provides a little history lesson. Opinion below.
Ayala by John Byrne on Scribd