What does it cost to in round number to attack the law in MA or NY or NJ to end magazine bans.

Since the 9th circuit ruled what would it take to bring a similar suite in the first circuit and second circuit.

I am just looking for an idea of magnitude.

10K, 100K, a million, several million?

It's expensive, which is why there is always a named plaintiff (Heller, for example) and an organization backing the plaintiff (NRA, etc.).

In the federal courts, litigation comes in stages: Trial court, appellate court, supreme court. Sometimes there is a 3 judge panel at the appellate level, sometimes there is the full panel. If your case is adjudicated by a 3 judge panel, you can ask for en banc review by the whole panel. I say all of this to show that there is a LOT of court and prep time to work a case through the process. Nothing, absolutely nothing in the firearms universe is finalized at the trial level. Someone is always going to appeal.

Figure, at a minimum, the trial will cost between $10k and $100K. It could easily cost more than that, but don't start the process if you don't have $100k to commit.

By way of example, I was advised by patent counsel on a tech matter that trial and first level appeal of a patent matter could easily run $2MM.

Numbers like this are why you don't see these issues challenged in every state.

Another reason why presidential elections are so crucial is because federal judges and SCOTUS judges are appointed by the President. Really hoping President Trump gets to appoint another one soon after his re-election in November.

Art,

I assume in addition to money, the political climate (judges at higher courts) in certain jurisdictions might not be friendly enough for those mag bans to be challenged?

If the organization backing the plaintiff knows the federal judge who will see it would uphold the ban, why would they throw tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars at it? Would be a waste of time and money.

What you are talking about is called "forum shopping" and it usually helps to bring a case in a "friendly" jurisdiction. The problem is, that most places that have "bad" gun laws also have less desirable fora.

In addition, parties don't get to pick the judge. There is always a senior judge who assigns cases, so it's pretty difficult to get a sympathetic judge. I.e., Heller in DC, McDonald in Chicago, Caetano in Massachusetts and NY Pistol & Rifle in NY (this case was dropped by NY). The fact that we are seeing wins in difficult jurisdictions is a very good sign that things are moving our way.

Do you have examples of courts that use a senior judge to assign cases? Every federal court I have practiced in (DC, FL, CA) assigns cases to judges randomly (or so they say, whether there is something going on behind the scenes at the clerk's office I do not know).

You do, however, have the ability to mark a case as a related case to cases that are already before the court and it will get assigned to the same judge as the related cases. There are requirements that need to met or else the judge will send the case back to be randomly assigned again.

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In addition, parties don't get to pick the judge. There is always a senior judge who assigns cases, so it's pretty difficult to get a sympathetic judge. I.e., Heller in DC, McDonald in Chicago, Caetano in Massachusetts and NY Pistol & Rifle in NY (this case was dropped by NY). The fact that we are seeing wins in difficult jurisdictions is a very good sign that things are moving our way.

You are correct that trials can cost that much. In situations where there is only an issue of law and facts are not in dispute, there is no need for a trial and the case can be decided on summary judgment, as was the case in Duncan v. Becerra. In such a case, the plaintiff will file a motion for summary judgment early on (sometimes immediately after filing the complaint) and the defendants will have the opportunity to respond and usually there will be a hearing on the motion. Then the case is decided whenever the judge gets around to making the decision and writing an opinion. And then the appeals process begins.

If you end up winning a lawsuit that alleged violations of constitutional rights against a state (these are generally cases brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983) the court may award attorneys fees to you from the state pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988. From the language of the statute, this is discretionary on the district court's part.

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Figure, at a minimum, the trial will cost between $10k and $100K. It could easily cost more than that, but don't start the process if you don't have $100k to commit.

By way of example, I was advised by patent counsel on a tech matter that trial and first level appeal of a patent matter could easily run $2MM.

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Do you have examples of courts that use a senior judge to assign cases? Every federal court I have practiced in (DC, FL, CA) assigns cases to judges randomly (or so they say, whether there is something going on behind the scenes at the clerk's office I do not know).

No, I have a recollection from law school some 30 years ago that there was an assigning judge. As a purely transactional guy I don't have any practical experience with the actual operations of the federal system, and I appreciate your correction and greater knowledge.

No problem. You made the right decision not practicing in litigation, I hate it.

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No, I have a recollection from law school some 30 years ago that there was an assigning judge. As a purely transactional guy I don't have any practical experience with the actual operations of the federal system, and I appreciate your correction and greater knowledge.