Judicial Nominee Caitlin Halligan’s Controversial Record

Caitlin Halligan Has Activist Views On The Second Amendment And The War On Terror
Controversial Views On The 2nd Amendment
Halligan, Eliot Spitzer Pushed Radical Legal Theory Deemed ‘Legally Inappropriate’ By CourtTHE POUGHKEEPSIE JOURNAL: “In a battle between gun manufacturers and the attorney general, a decision recently handed down by the appellate division of the New York State Supreme Court blew Spitzer away… Simply stated, they believe that Spitzer's intent is to put the gun companies out of business. If a manufacturer -- any manufacturer -- is held financially responsible for how their product is used, whether by a criminal or someone who is just plain inept, the cost of all products will go through the roof.” (“Lawsuits Continue To Threaten Gun Manufacturers And Owners,” The Poughkeepsie Journal, 7/31/03)

NY COURT OF APPEALS: “Plaintiff's complaint, as pertinent here, claims that illegally possessed handguns are a common-law public nuisance…” (People Of The State Of New York v. Sturm & Ruger Co., 309 A.D.2d 91, 2003)

·    NY COURT OF APPEALS: “The New York Court of Appeals has never recognized a common-law public nuisance cause of action based on allegations like those in this complaint. Moreover, other jurisdictions have dismissed public nuisance claims against firearms manufacturers on similar or other grounds… In light of the foregoing, we believe it is legally inappropriate, impractical and unrealistic to mandate that defendants undertake, and the courts enforce, unspecified measures urged by plaintiff in order to abate the conceded availability and criminal use of illegal handguns.” (People Of The State Of New York v. Sturm & Ruger Co., 309 A.D.2d 91, 2003)

·    “Eliot Spitzer, of counsel (Caitlin J. Halligan, Beth L. Golden, Peter B. Pope, Hillary Weisman and Sachin S. Pandya, on the brief, Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General of the State of New York, attorney) for plaintiffs-appellants.” (People Of The State Of New York v. Sturm & Ruger Co., 309 A.D.2d 91, 2003)

After State Court Rejected Her Radical Legal Theory, Halligan Attacked Bipartisan Congressional Legislation Protecting 2nd Amendment RightsNATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION: “Our opposition is based on Ms. Halligan's attacks on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans.” (National Rifle Association, Letter To Congress, 3/9/11)

·    “…she worked to undermine the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), enacted in 2005 with strong bipartisan support. This legislation was critically important in ending a wave of lawsuits sponsored by anti-gun organizations and governments, which sought to blame firearms manufacturers and dealers for the criminal misuse of their products by third parties.” (National Rifle Association, Letter To Congress, 3/9/11)

·    “After passage of the PLCAA, Ms. Halligan participated in the legal attack on the PLCAA. The state filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit supporting New York City's attack on the law's constitutionality. The arguments in that brief were ultimately rejected by the Second Circuit, as they have been by every other appellate court (and every federal court at any level) that has considered the issue.” (National Rifle Association, Letter To Congress, 3/9/11)

Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) was supported by 9 Current Senate Dems: Sens. Max Baucus (D-MT), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Harry Reid (D-NV), & Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). (S. 397, Roll Call Vote # 219: Adopted 65-31: R 50-2; D 14-29; I 1-0; 7/29/05)

GUN OWNERS OF AMERICA: “On behalf of over 300,000 members of Gun Owners of America, I am writing you to express our unequivocal opposition to the nomination of Caitlin Halligan to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.” (Gun Owners Of America, Letter To Congress, 3/9/11)

·    “Given Halligan’s admitted involvement in New York’s legally specious, politically motivated efforts to bankrupt gun manufacturers through frivolous litigation, Halligan has proven to us that she placed liberal political activism above fealty to the law. It is inconceivable to us that such a partisan could be seriously considered…” (Gun Owners Of America, Letter To Congress, 3/9/11)

·    “Certainly, no other manufacturer could be held liable for the criminal misuse of its product. And, as Halligan well knows, the application of that principle to firearms would surely eliminate the manufacture of firearms in America. It is significant that a Washington-based anti-gun group openly took credit for coordinating anti-gun suits such as Halligan’s.” (Gun Owners Of America, Letter To Congress, 3/9/11)

Controversial Views On Terrorism
Halligan: Federal Courts ‘Should Be The Preferred Forum For Future Terrorism Cases’CAITLIN HALLIGAN Signed Report: “[C]riminal prosecutions in the federal courts … should be the preferred forum for future terrorism cases.” “…use of military commissions should be minimized because of the several advantages offered by criminal prosecutions in the federal courts… They should be the preferred forum for future terrorism cases.” (“The Indefinite Detention Of ‘Enemy Combatants’: Balancing Due Process And National Security In The Context Of The War On Terror,” The Association Of The Bar Of The City Of New York, Committee On Federal Courts, P.7, 2/6/04)

Amicus Brief For Al Qaeda Terrorist Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri, Ignored Supreme Court RulingCBS/AP: “Ali al-Marri, 43, admitted to one count of conspiring to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization… Al-Marri admitted he trained in al Qaeda camps and stayed in al Qaeda safe houses in Pakistan between 1998 and 2001, where he learned how to handle weapons and how to communicate by phone and e-mail using a code. He also admitted meeting and having regular contact with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, and with Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, who allegedly helped the Sept. 11 hijackers with money and Western-style clothing.” (“Terror Suspect Al-Marri Pleads Guilty,” The Associated Press/CBS News, 5/1/09)

HALLIGAN BRIEF: “The government has detained petitioner Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, without criminal process, for more than seven years and it asserts a power to continue his detention indefinitely… Thus, if al-Marri’s confinement is lawful, it must be sustained as a civil detention — a narrow category of confinement that may be imposed without criminal process.” (Brief For Constitutional, Criminal Procedure, And Other Legal Scholars As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioner, Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri, Petitioner, v. Commander Daniel Spagone, U.S.N., Consolidated Naval Brig, P.1)

·    “Without explicit statutory directives, judicial review of this issue would be frustrated. In this respect as well, the government’s claim that the AUMF implicitly authorized the indefinite confinement of al-Marri is not in accord in with this Court’s precedents concerning civil detention.” (Brief For Constitutional, Criminal Procedure, And Other Legal Scholars As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioner, Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri, Petitioner, v. Commander Daniel Spagone, U.S.N., Consolidated Naval Brig, P.21)

Attorneys For Amici Curiae: Caitlin J. Halligan, Gregory Silbert, Arthur C. D’Andrea, Michael Winn, Maria Vittoria G. Carminati, Michael N. Kourabas (Brief For Constitutional, Criminal Procedure, And Other Legal Scholars As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioner, Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri, Petitioner, v. Commander Daniel Spagone, U.S.N., Consolidated Naval Brig)

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