Butzel Long Appellate Attorneys Appear Before U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Hayes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court on November 10, 2008 heard oral argument in United States v. Hayes, in which attorneys from Butzel Long's Appellate practice group represent respondent Randy Edward Hayes as co-counsel. Hayes involves the scope of the Lautenberg Amendment to the 1968 Gun Control Act, which Congress adopted in 1996 to bar firearm possession by those convicted of certain misdemeanors involving domestic abuse. The first nine federal appellate courts to consider the issue adopted the government's view that the law bans gun possession by one with any such misdemeanor conviction, and when the Fourth Circuit disagreed in Hayes, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to review that decision. However, questioning at Monday's oral argument indicated that at least some of the justices question the government's broad reading of the statute, and may be leaning toward the more limited interpretation set forth in Mr. Hayes's brief, which Butzel Long principally authored.

Butzel Long attorneys Michael F. Smith, James F. Gehrke, John H. Dudley, and Kimberly Horsley Allen, who are representing Mr. Hayes on a pro bono basis, briefed the case and appeared before the Court for the argument, conducted by Mr. Hayes's trial counsel, Troy Giatras of Charleston, W.Va.

Mr. Hayes's merits brief may be accessed here, and the transcript of the oral argument may be accessed here. The Court will issue its ruling on or before June 30, 2009.

About Butzel Long

Butzel Long was established in 1854 and is headquartered in Detroit. Butzel Long is one of America's leading law firms, with 240 attorneys and offices in Detroit, Bloomfield Hills, Lansing, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, New York City, Washington, D.C., Boca Raton and Palm Beach, Florida, as well as Alliance offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Mexico City and Monterrey. The firm represents clients from diverse industries on a regional, national and multi-national level and is the sole Michigan member of Lex Mundi, a global association of 160 independent law firms. Visit the Butzel Long website at www.butzel.com (http://www.butzel.com/).

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Media Contact: Maribeth Farkas at Caponigro Public Relations Inc., (248) 355-3200.