SCOTUS Gun Watch – Week of 12/21/20
Two new Second Amendment cert petitions have been docketed in the past week. The first is Mai v. United States. The case is an as-applied challenge to 922(g), but to its mental-health prohibitor, not the felon prohibitor. The case presents a fairly sympathetic plaintiff on a fairly sympathetic fact pattern, but it has lost in the courts below. When the Ninth Circuit refused to take the case en banc, that decision elicited some heated dissents. The other is Folajtar v. Barr, which got the to the Court very quickly—the Third Circuit just issued its decision on November 24, 2020. That case is an as-applied challenge to the felon prohibitor. The Court will now have a robust set of cases to choose from if it decides to take up the prohibited person issue.
| Case | Ct. Below | Pet. Filed | Implicated Law/Issue | Status |
| Rodriguez v. San Jose
(19-1057) |
9th Cir. | 21-Feb-20 | Warrantless search and seizure of firearms under Fourth Amendment | Cert Denied |
| Johnson v. United States
(19-1390) |
4th. Cir. | 12-Jun-20 | Vagueness challenge to the Armed Career Criminal Act’s elements clause | Cert Denied |
| Zoie H. v Nebraska
(19-1418) |
Neb. Sup. Ct. | 22-June-20
|
Second and Sixth Amendment challenge to jury-less conviction that can result in gun disqualifer for juveniles | Cert Denied |
| Caldara v. City of Boulder
(20-416) |
10th Cir. | 24-Sep-20 | Federal court abstention over Second Amendment claims being adjudicated in state court | Cert Denied |
| Caniglia v. Strom
(20-157) |
1st Cir. | 10-Aug-20 | Fourth Amendment challenge to gun removal | Cert Granted |
| Torres v. United States
(20-5579) |
9th Cir. | 27-Aug-20 | As-applied challenge to 922(g)(1) | Cert Denied |
| Yoo v. United States
(20-550) |
5th Cir. | 21-Oct-20 | Challenge to conviction based on misstatements on Form 4473 (req’d for purchase at a gun dealer) | Cert Denied |
| Hobbs v. United States
(20-171) |
6th Cir. | 13-Aug-20 | Guilty plea under 922(g) without knowledge of disqualifying status
|
conf. to be rescheduled |
| United States v. Gary
(20-444) |
4th Cir. | 5-Oct-20 | Guilty plea under 922(g) without being informed that knowledge is an element of the offense
(Govt is petitioner) |
reply due @ 22-Dec-20 |
| E.H. v. Florida Dept. Ag. (Pro se)
(20-627) |
Fla. Ct. App. | 9-Oct-20 | Challenge to firearm license denial based on prior mental health commitment | distributed for 8-Jan-2021 conf. |
| Porter v. United States
(20-522) |
6th Cir. | 16-Oct-20 | Challenge to ACCA enhancement | distributed for 8-Jan-2021 conf. |
| Holloway v. Barr
(20-782) |
3d Cir. | 3-Dec-20 | As-applied challenge to 922(g)(1) | response due 7-Jan-2021 |
| Mai v. United States
(20-819) |
9th Cir. | 9-Dec-20 | As-applied challenge to 922(g)(4) | response due 19-Jan-2021 |
| Folajtar v. Barr
(20-812) |
3d Cir. | 11-Dec-20 | As-applied challenge to 922(g)(1) | response due 14-Jan-2021 |