CGF: The Silvester v. Harris (10-Day Waiting Period Case) Appeal – Part II: The Amici in Support of California
A second update from CGF on the current Silvester v Harris case, exploring the Attorney General’s supporting briefs:
Amicus curiae (plural: amici) is Latin for “friend of the court.” As explained by the Cornell University Law School Legal Information Institute, “Frequently, a person or group who is not a party to a lawsuit, but has a strong interest in the matter, will petition the court for permission to submit a brief in the action with the intent of influencing the court’s decision.” This article explores the amici in support of (ISO) Defendant/Appellant Attorney General Kamala Harris…
Following Harris’ opening brief, three amici — the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Everytown for Gun Safety, and the Law Center To Prevent Gun Violence — each filed briefs in support of Harris and reversal of the District Court’s decision that found California’s 10-day waiting period laws (WPL) unconstitutional as applied to three classes of people. (If you’re needing to catch up on what happened in the case and why, visit our Silvester v. Harris case web page.)
Covering all three briefs is relatively simple, because all three briefs largely make the same arguments:
- The WPL are “longstanding” and therefore presumptively lawful;
- The WPL regulate the “commercial sale of arms” and are therefore presumptively lawful;
- Even if the WPL were not presumptively lawful, they relate to an “important government interest” – public safety – and therefore survive intermediate scrutiny.
Read the full blog HERE.
