SCOTUS Filing
FFL-IL Back in SCOTUS
For the second time in two weeks, SADEC is in the Supreme Court supporting FFL-IL in filing for a Writ of Certiorari
SADEC has made a commitment to our supporters to make the most of every dollar donated to impact Second Amendment cases in Illinois. Yesterday, FFL-IL, supported by SADEC, joined with its partner cases in “Barnett v. Raoul” and filed for a Writ of Certiorari before the United States Supreme Court challenging PICA, the semi-automatic rifle, “Assault Pistol,” and magazine ban in Illinois. This is a huge step!
Why is it so huge? In addition to the merits of the arguments in the combined cases (see below for more details), there are now four related cases before SCOTUS on semi-auto-ban-related cases.
Cargill v. Garland - The case against Bumpstocks. SADEC supported an amicus brief in this case.
Barnett v. Raul - Semi-Auto, accessory, high-capacity pistol and magazine ban - Supported by SADEC
Harrell v. Raoul - Semi-Auto and magazine ban (FPC)
Bianchi v. Brown - Maryland “Assault Weapons” Ban Case (pending in 4th circuit for 14 months - Writ of Certiorari filed Feb 8, 2024, WITHOUT a decision from the 4th circuit under rule 11.
The related issue in all the cases, aside from the particular technical arguments being made, is that the Appellate courts involved in these cases are not just arriving at improper conclusions, but they are intentionally disregarding Supreme Cout precedent from Heller and NYSRPA v. Bruen, and thumbing their nose at the court and need to be brought back into line. THEY ARE GETTING IT WRONG ON PURPOSE IN REBELLION OF THE ORDERS THEY HAVE RECEIVED FROM THE SUPREME COURT!!! In the process, they have created a circuit split, another indicator that SCOTUS uses to accept cases for review.
In every petition for certiorari, complainants must state the question they want the court to rule on. In part, our question is…
…Yet after Bruen seemingly interred the reasoning of decisions like Friedman and Illinois responded not by conforming existing law to Bruen but with defiance—banning upwards of 1,000 previously lawful rifles, pistols, and shotguns, plus their respective parts and common magazines—a divided panel of the Seventh Circuit (that included Friedman’s author) resurrected Friedman, declaring its approach not only “basically compatible with,” but more “useful” than Bruen, which it derided as “slippery,” “circular,” and not “very helpful.” App.19- 21, 37-38. The majority then took its disregard of Bruen one giant step further, concluding that Illinois’ sweeping ban does not even implicate the Second Amendment. Not surprisingly, that decision drew a sharp dissent—and created a circuit split to boot.
The question presented is: Whether Illinois’ sweeping ban on common and long-lawful arms violates the Second Amendment.
While we are hopeful that these four similar cases, all seeking SCOTUS review, will be enough to convince the court to take at least one of the cases up OR combine them and take more than one, it is possible that Cert. is denied in all the cases. If that were to happen, we hope at least one of the originalist judges on the court would write a scathing dissent as they did in the second circuit almost four years ago.
If SCOTUS accepts any of these cases, we could see a ruling by mid-2025. If they do not, it could be longer than that. Rember that we are still pursuing this case at the District Court level in front of Judge McGlynn as well, a two-pronged approach to hedge our bets and restore the rights of all Illinoisans to own the firearms of their choice, not just the ones that the defiant 7th Circuit Court of Appeals allows the subjects of J.B. Pritzker to possess.
Finally, we can only continue these cases with your support. SADEC supports the FFL-IL case in two separate courts and files amicus briefs wherever possible to further our arguments and push our issues to the forefront of the legal arena. YOU ARE HAVING A HUGE IMPACT WITH YOUR DONATIONS! Legal costs are mounting at a rate we haven’t seen since the case's early days. SADEC can only continue if you stay engaged and make it your PERSONAL MISSION to overthrow the tyranny of JB and his puppets in the Illinois General Assembly. Regular monthly donations make it easy for you to stay involved and help us budget for the future. If you can, please commit to a regular monthly donation.