Mrs Cannings said she was "disappointed and disheartened" by Judge Collins' ruling, while a Clark family solicitor said professional bodies had been "neutered".

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We are deeply concerned that clients are choosing to appear unrepresented in court while their solicitor is on strike, even though the services of a duty solicitor provided by the Scottish Legal Aid Board are available to them, as this choice is unlikely to be in their best interests.

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But Solicitor General Paul Clement wrote in a brief to the Supreme Court that while the amendment preserved an individual right, he believed the appeals court had been wrong categorically to rule DC's handgun ban unconstitutional.

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