Federal judicial service

On September 12, 1991, Scullin was nominated to the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York by President George H. W. Bush. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 6, 1992, and received his commission on February 10, 1992. He served as Chief Judge of the District from 2000 until March 13, 2006, when he assumed senior status.^[1]

Scullin was also appointed by Chief Justice Rehnquist to the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for a term of seven years running from 2004 until 2011.^[1]

Notable case

On July 26, 2014, Judge Scullin struck down the District of Columbia's ban on carrying handguns outside of a person's home, saying that the ban violated the Second Amendment.^[2] He wrote that "there is no longer any basis on which this court can conclude that the District of Columbia's total ban on the public carrying of ready-to-use handguns outside the home is constitutional under any level of scrutiny."^[3] In response to the ruling, the D.C. Metropolitan Police determined that non-residents bearing firearms in the district are subject to the handgun laws of their home jurisdiction; in effect, this makes the District much more permissive of firearms.^[4] On July 29, 2014, in response to a partially unopposed motion filed by the District of Columbia, Judge Scullin issued a 90-day stay of his initial order. The stay expired on November 28, 2014.