It's a Second Amendment gun case in the Ninth Circuit, involving someone named VanDyke who was under a harassment no-contact order for repeatedly stalking his victim. VanDyke claimed, successfully in the district court, that the Second Amendment entitled him to have a weapon, including but not limited to bringing his handgun to the courthouse (which he did).
I know what you may be thinking. No. It's not that VanDyke.
This case involves Ryan VanDyke. From Idaho. Here's what he did:
"In May 2023, Ryan VanDyke walked into an Idaho state courthouse carrying a fully loaded Smith & Wesson .38 revolver. At the time, he was subject to a civil protection order and a no-contact order and faced a felony stalking charge—all because he had persistently ignored court orders to stay away from a woman who wanted to escape his prolonged harassment."
When I first read the caption, I knew it wasn't Judge VanDyke, since the defendant's first name was Ryan rather than Lawrence. I also immediately looked to see if Judge VanDyke wrote the opinion, or was on the panel. Nope.
The opinion is instead written by Judge McKeown. It reverses the district court, holding that the Second Amendment does not grant Mr. VanDyke the right to possess a weapon in this particular setting.
But I was kinda hoping to hear Judge VanDyke's views on this one.
If only because it's not a totally common name.
