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Gov't moves to dismiss a prosecution... while appeal is pending in Supreme Court!
Josh Blackman has the story, at The Volokh Conspiracy. The challenge was to the NFA, which was created as a taxing stature, but ever since enactment of 18 USC 922(o) in 1986, the government cannot accept taxes for newly-created NFA arms. That issue has arisen repeatedly over the last 34 years. Josh suggests that the motion to dismiss (and in the Supremes, to GVR -- grant (certiorari), vacate, and remand) comes in light of the litigation over the Affordable Care Act, a part of which was held to be based on the broad power to tax, but today has had its tax/penalty clause repealed.
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I remember Alan Gura saying after the Heller decision was handed down that they made Herculean efforts to remind the Court throughout the process that nothing the plaintiffs were asking for would make machine guns more available. They were certain that the Court would rule against them, regardless of the Constitution, history, prior law, common sense or any other factor, if they thought a ruling for the plaintiffs would make machine guns more available than they already were.
I know some of the Justices are different now, but how likely is it that the same attitude remains pervasive on the Court?
So you set up a tax but cannot collect the tax. Then the whole thing should fall apart like a house of cards!