Federal Defenders of New York Blog
Serving the Second Circuit and the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York
The Solicitor General filed the government’s petition for a writ of certiorari on October 5, 2023. Respondent Bryan Range’s papers were filed on October 18, 2023. The Solicitor General filed its reply on November 1, 2023.
The Supreme Court docket is available at: https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/23-374.html…
In United States v. Rahimi, 61 F.4th 443 (5th Cir. 2023), the Fifth Circuit held that 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), criminalizing firearm possession by a person subject to a domestic violence restraining order, was facially unconstitutional in light of N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen, — U.S. –, 142 S. Ct. 2111 (2022). In doing so, it became the first — and only — circuit to invalidate a federal criminal statute on Second Amendment grounds.
Within weeks, the government filed a “highly expedited” Supreme Court petition, acknowledging the lack of a Circuit split but contending that the Fifth Circuit’s decision was incorrect, had “significant disruptive consequences,” and “threatens grave harm for victims of domestic violence.”
Rahimi’s response is due on April 20, 2023. Amicus briefs should be due 30 days after that. Bruen aficionados: keep your eyes peeled and start hitting refresh on that …
In Caetano v. Massachusetts, No. 14-10078, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous per curiam decision, reversed the decision of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts that a stun gun is not a “bearable arm” protected by the Second Amendment, District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), and McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010). Ms. Caetano was given a stun gun by a friend to use for protection after an altercation with her abusive ex-boyfriend landed her in the hospital. Multiple restraining orders had proved unsuccessful in keeping the boyfriend away. The next time the boyfriend accosted her, she displayed the stun gun and he went away.
Possession of a stun gun is punishable in Massachusetts by imprisonment of 6 months to 2 1/2 years. Ms. Caetano raised a Second Amendment claim in the trial court, but it was rejected, and she was convicted. The …
In 2002, Angel Decastro moved from Florida to New York to help run his father’s dry-cleaning business. After a violent confrontation with a customer, Decastro requested a handgun license application from the NYPD. He did not submit it, however; he claimed that a desk officer told him that there was “no way” that it would be approved. Instead, he returned to Florida, where he was licensed to own a handgun, and purchased two guns. He left one in Florida and brought the other back to New York. A few years later, he moved back to Florida but left his gun with a relative in the Bronx, planning to retrieve it later. In the interim, the relative’s girlfriend turned the gun in to the police. The police traced it back to Decastro, who was charged …