Law360 Turns to Widener Law Commonwealth Professor F. Lee Francis on the Supreme Court's Latest Second Amendment Ruling
Assistant Professor F. Lee Francis published an analysis in Law360 examining the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in U.S. v. Hemani, a case that brought together the ACLU and the NRA to challenge a federal gun law's "unlawful user" provision. Francis argues the ruling is about far more than marijuana, tracing how it fits alongside Bruen and Rahimi to establish a new limit on the government's ability to disarm citizens based on status alone rather than actual, demonstrated risk. He walks through what the decision could mean for future challenges to felon disarmament laws, mental health prohibitions, and other firearm restrictions built on categorical assumptions rather than historical tradition. Francis disclosed that he co-wrote and filed an amicus brief in support of Hemani in the case.
The piece draws on Francis's ongoing scholarship on the Second Amendment and firearms law, an area where he's served as an expert witness in both federal and state court and where his work has been cited by federal district and appellate courts. At Widener Law Commonwealth, he teaches Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, and Evidence.
Francis was recently awarded the 2025 Douglas E. Ray Excellence in Faculty Scholarship Award for his article "The Addiction Restriction: Addiction and the Right to Bear Arms," which challenges longstanding assumptions about addiction and constitutional rights.