Ruling in Printz v. United States, on June 27, 1997, the majority opinion declared that “The Brady Act’s interim provision commanding CLEOs to conduct background checks, §922(s)(2), is unconstitutional. Extinguished with it is the duty implicit in the background-check requirement that the CLEO accept completed handgun-applicant statements (Brady Forms) from firearms dealers, §§922(s)(1)(A)(i)(III) and (IV).”
The question presented was:
“[W]hether certain interim provisions of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, Pub. L. 103–159, 107 Stat. 1536, commanding state and local law enforcement officers to conduct background checks on prospective handgun purchasers and to perform certain related tasks, violate the Constitution.”
The opinion
Read the full rulingPDF · 2.52 MBPublished by the Library of Congress.
Oral argument
Listen at OyezOffsiteThe Court's own audio archive begins with the 2010 term, so this argument is held by Oyez rather than by supremecourt.gov.
