Justice in gun ruling a gun dealer

RALEIGH, N.C., Oct. 11 (UPI) -- The North Carolina Supreme Court justice who wrote an opinion allowing some convicted felons to own guns is a licensed gun dealer, a newspaper said.

Edward Thomas Brady, who was elected to the high court in 2002, holds a federal license to make and sell guns and has made at least $5,000 in sales annually since 2007, the Raleigh News & Observer reported.

Until 2004, North Carolina allowed convicted felons to own guns five years after they completed sentences. The court ruled 5-2 in August that the 2004 law should not be applied to those who had the right to own weapons restored.

While the decision won national attention, Brady's apparent conflict of interest was not noticed at the time, the newspaper said.

Legal experts were split on whether Brady should have recused himself from the case.

Gene Nichol, who teaches at the University of North Carolina law school, called the ruling "aggressive."

"Then you read that the highly activist opinion is written by a gun dealer and manufacturer," he said. "It sure smells."

Kathryn Webb Bradley, director of legal ethics at Duke University Law School, had a different take.

"You could say, 'Look, he's creating a market for himself,'" Bradley said. "But I think that's a stretch in terms of what's going to happen. This isn't an opinion that directly rules in favor of gun dealers."