SCOTUS Gun Watch – Week of 3/1/21
This week we’re adding a new case to the list: Libertarian Party of Erie County v. Cuomo. The cert petition filed last month, and just docketed last week, challenges New York’s pistol permit licensing scheme on Second Amendment grounds. The petition is quite colorful, including eight questions presented and one that asks simply “Can courts properly evaluate Second Amendment claims without acknowledging the true purpose of the right to bear arms, to deter government tyranny in all its multifarious forms?” (Italics in original). Heller, of course, suggested that self-defense is the lodestar of the constitutional analysis, but anti-tyranny advocates often seek to either displace that rationale or find a home within.
Petitions Pending
| Case | Ct. Below | Pet. Filed | Implicated Law/Issue | Status |
| Fleury v. Massachusetts
(20-1122) |
App. Ct. Mass. | 2-Nov-20 | Challenge to Mass. firearm storage law | response due 18-Mar-2021 |
| Holloway v. Barr
(20-782) |
3d Cir. | 3-Dec-20 | As-applied challenge to 922(g)(1) | response due 10-Mar-2021 |
| Mai v. United States
(20-819) |
9th Cir. | 9-Dec-20 | As-applied challenge to 922(g)(4) | response due 19-Mar-2021 |
| Folajtar v. Barr
(20-812) |
3d Cir. | 11-Dec-20 | As-applied challenge to 922(g)(1) | response due 17-Mar-2021 |
| Knowles v. Hart
(20-840) |
11th Cir. | 17-Dec-20 | Fourth Amendment challenge to use of deadly force against person with holstered weapon | distributed for 19-Mar-21 conf. |
| New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Corlett
(20-843) |
2d Cir. | 17-Dec-20 | Challenge to New York’s good cause public carry regime | reply due @ due 5-Mar-2021 |
| Flick v. Rosen
(20-902) |
11th Cir. | 29-Dec-20 | As-applied challenge to 922(g)(1) | response due
8-Mar-2021 |
| Libertarian Party of Erie County v. Cuomo
(20-1151) |
2d Cir. | 9-Feb-21 | Challenge to New York’s pistol permit regime | response due
25-Mar-2021 |
Petitions Disposed
| Case | Ct. Below | Pet. Filed | Implicated Law/Issue | Status |
| Greer v. United States
(19-8709) |
11th Cir. | 8-Jun-2020 | Scope of appellate review for Rehaif errors | Cert Granted |
| Caniglia v. Strom
(20-157) |
1st Cir. | 10-Aug-20 | Fourth Amendment challenge to gun removal | Argument set for 3-Mar-2021 |
| Hobbs v. United States
(20-171) |
6th Cir. | 13-Aug-20 | Guilty plea under 922(g) without knowledge of disqualifying status
|
Likely being held pending Gary |
| 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) |
Cert Granted |
| 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 |
| Torres v. United States
(20-5579) |
9th Cir. | 27-Aug-20 | As-applied challenge to 922(g)(1) | Cert Denied |
| 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 | Cert Denied |
| Porter v. United States
(20-522) |
6th Cir. | 16-Oct-20 | Challenge to ACCA enhancement | Cert Denied |
| McGinnis v. United States
(20-6046) |
5th Cir. | 13-Oct-20 | As-applied challenge to 922(g)(8) | 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 |