No. 18-191

John Cassidy v. Massachusetts

Lower Court: Massachusetts
Docketed: 2018-08-14
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Amici (1)Response Waived
Tags: 2nd-amendment civil-rights due-process firearm-possession heller home-firearm-rights home-possession intermediate-scrutiny interstate-firearm-transfer mcdonald presumptively-lawful-restrictions scrutiny-standard second-amendment state-restrictions strict-scrutiny
Key Terms:
SecondAmendment DueProcess Privacy
Latest Conference: 2018-09-24
Question Presented (AI Summary)

What level of scrutiny should be used in reviewing statutes that punish possession of lawfully acquired arms kept in the home?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED Private, in home possession of firearms and the ‘core’ of The Second Amendment’s meaning post Heller and McDonald has been largely left open to the varying federal and state judicial appellate divisions and, in some cases, varying state legislation. Both sides of firearm arguments have centered on ‘presumptively lawful restrictions,’ ‘laws that impermissibly burdens The Second Amendment,’ or ‘places a substantial burden on exercise of a Second Amendment right.’ Petitioner Cassidy was convicted in Massachusetts of seven felonies for possessing two firearms, four largecapacity magazines and ammunition he lawfully purchased in Texas and kept in his off-campus residence, in a bedroom he alone occupied. Cassidy could not obtain a license prior to moving to the state and five of the items he possessed are banned in Massachusetts. The questions presented: 1. What level of scrutiny should be used in reviewing statutes that punish possession of lawfully acquired arms kept in the home? 2. What are the limits a state may impose for possessing ammunition in the home? 3. May a state ban an entire class of firearms that are commonly possessed by law abiding citizens because the firearms look like a machine gun? 4. May a state ban large-capacity magazines made within the past 20 years? 5. Must a state recognize another state’s implementation of Second Amendment rights? 6. Must a state have a firearm’s licensing process in place to allow citizens to obtain a license prior to the citizen moving to the state so that they may bring their lawfully purchased firearms with them? 7. Does the Second Amendment protect lawfully acquired firearms purchased in one state by a citizen of that state when the citizen brings those firearms with them to another state that prohibits the very same items? LIST OF ALL PARTIES All parties appear in the caption of the case on the cover page.

Docket Entries

2018-10-01
Petition DENIED.
2018-09-13
Brief amicus curiae of Commonwealth Second Amendment, Inc. filed. (Distributed)
2018-09-05
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/24/2018.
2018-08-30
Waiver of right of respondent Commonwealth of Massachusetts to respond filed.
2018-08-13
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 13, 2018)

Attorneys

Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Randall Evan RavitzMassachusetts Attorney General's Office, Respondent
Randall Evan RavitzMassachusetts Attorney General's Office, Respondent
Commonwealth Second Amendment, Inc.
John Steven FoleyLaw Office of J. Steven Foley, Amicus
John Steven FoleyLaw Office of J. Steven Foley, Amicus
John Cassidy
William John BurnsWJ Burns Esq CPA, Petitioner
William John BurnsWJ Burns Esq CPA, Petitioner