On Friday, Chief Counsel Joshua Prince and attorney Dillon Harris of the Firearms Industry Consulting Group (FICG) filed a lawsuit against Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Commissioner Robert Evanchick on behalf of Firearms Owners Against Crime – Institute for Legal, Legislative, and Educational Action (FOAC-ILLEA) and several Federal Firearm Licensees (FFLs) and individuals in Pennsylvania, in relation to the PSP’s substantial delays in performing firearm purchase/transfer background checks, as well as, those associated with licenses to carry firearms.
As averred in the lawsuit, Commissioner Evanchick has instituted a practice, in direct defiance of the General Assembly’s mandate, that purposely understaffs the PSP’s Instant Check Unit by only employing two individuals as operators for conducting almost 1.5 million background checks per year, resulting in delays, as admitted by the PSP on its own website, that typically exceed 7 hours, and in some occasions, exceed 34 hours, even though the statutes require the background check system to be “instantaneous.” As a result of Commissioner Evanchick’s practice, numerous individuals have been disenfranchised of their statutory and constitutional rights under the Pennsylvania and U.S. Constitutions. In fact, one of plaintiffs, who holds an FFL, was delayed in excess of 22 hours by the PSP, even though, there can be no dispute that he is not prohibited from purchasing, possessing, and utilizing firearms, because if he were, he would be ineligible for an FFL.
The lawsuit seeks declaratory relief that Commissioner Evanchick’s practice is unlawful and additionally seeks an injunction requiring the PSP to comply with the General Assembly’s mandate that the background check system be instantaneous. You can find FOAC-ILLEA’s press release here.
Firearms Industry Consulting Group® (FICG®) is a registered trademark and division of Civil Rights Defense Firm, P.C., with rights and permissions granted to Prince Law Offices, P.C. to use in this article.
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Published by Joshua Prince, Esq.
With our 2nd Amendment rights being attacked at both the Federal and State level, and the ATF (Burea of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives) trying to close down FFLs (Federal Firearms Licensees) for minor infractions while making FFLs the scapegoat when the ATF's records are inaccurate, I want to take this opportunity to introduce myself. I am one of only a handful of attorneys across the US that practices in the niche area of law known as firearms law. I decided to concentrate my legal practice on firearms law not only because I am a shooter and firearms enthusiast, but also to ensure that our inalienable Right to Keep and Bear Arms is never encroached upon.
I handle cases at the Federal and State level for both FFLs and individuals. At the federal and state levels for individuals, I actively defend the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution and Section 21 of the PA Constitution, as well as, help individuals with:
- License to Carry Firearms Denials;
- Challenges to Erroneous PICS Denials;
- Relief from Firearms Disabilities;
- Estate Planning Advice;
- Gun/NFA Trusts; and
- 42 USC 1983 Actions for Deprivation of Civil Rights
At both the state and federal levels, I represent FFLs and SOTs throughout Pennsylvania and the US regarding:
- ATF Compliance Inspections;
- Warning Letters and Hearings;
- FFL Revocations;
- Corporate Structure Advice
- Indoor/Outdoor Range Implementation; and
- Forfeiture Proceedings
In following my love for firearms and firearms law, I have taught several Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminars on Firearms in Estates and Trusts and Firearms Law 101 for several Bar Associations, including Berks, Cumberland, and Dauphin Counties. I also planned and taught several Firearms in Estates CLE classes for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI).
While at Widener Law School, I was a member of the Widener Law Journal. I wrote an article on the Inaccuracy of the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR). I also had an article published on Fee Disputes in Workers Compensation cases in the Widener Law Journal, Volume 18, No. 2.
You can often find me posting on several internet forums, including Subguns, Uzitalk, AR15, and PAFOA. I also hold PA Firearms Law classes for local ranges to inform the public on the firearm laws of the Commonwealth.
Following in my father's footsteps, I am also a Board member for the Pottstown Police Athletic League (PAL).
View all posts by Joshua Prince, Esq.
Prince Law Offices Blog 
Keep up the good work you do.
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Great , thanks for the update .
On Mon, Apr 11, 2022, 4:45 PM Prince Law Offices Blog wrote:
> Joshua Prince, Esq. posted: ” On Friday, Chief Counsel Joshua Prince and > attorney Dillon Harris of the Firearms Industry Consulting Group (FICG) > filed a lawsuit against Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Commissioner Robert > Evanchick on behalf of Firearms Owners Against Crime – Institut” >
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Wow, under Tom Wolf the PSP they act in an anti-gun manner. I’m shocked, shocked I tell you!
Actually I’d be shocked if they didn’t do it really. Cops follow (Command cops that is.) their bosses wishes, even if it’s not a direct order.
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Good job. Keep it up. It is better to have internal cleansing first before cleaning the public.
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For years PSP has referenced “ high volume of callers etc.” The money collected should easily pay for more operators. They certainly have the money and time to dissect remittance forms and point out small clerical errors of dealers. With more dealers using the computer system versus the phone system there is no excuse for the long delays other than to intentionally hinder the lawful sale of firearms.
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Where are we at this point. The delays are still there even though sales have dropped terribly low compared to last year? I still get 1 and 2 hour delays every day. And, How do we get rid of PICS all together?
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Hi Joshua. How could we avoid children to get such firearms. We already dealt with a lot of school shooting and I think one of the ways is to know if the buyer though qualifies should also not have a minor child/children at home.
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Per NYSRPA v. Bruen, as as our Nation has no tradition of stripping individuals of their Second Amendment rights as a result of having children in the home, any such regulation would be unconstitutional. The issue is not the guns, as there are thousands of ways, absent a gun, that a minor (or anyone else for that matter) could carry out mass attacks. Many of them are sitting under the kitchen sink and in the garage. The issues that need to be addressed, and as I previously testified to, are (1) the breakdown in the family unit; (2) mental health; and (3) the effects of SSRI drugs on the juvenile brain. When you consider that the side-effects of SSRI drugs is to have homicidal ideations and there are no studies on SSRI drug effects on the juvenile brain, because big Pharma doesn’t want what they already know to get out, I believe the SSRI drug factor is one of the biggest factors, especially when you consider that all the school shooters were on one or another SSRI drug. See my testimony here – https://blog.princelaw.com/2019/09/25/chief-counsel-joshua-prince-testifies-regarding-mental-health-and-proposals-restricting-second-amendment-rights-before-the-pa-senate-judiciary-committee/
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