Attorney General Josh Shapiro Violates Second Amendment and Due Process Rights of Hundreds, Again…

Today, Chief Counsel Joshua Prince and Attorney Dillon Harris filed suit against Attorney General Josh Shapiro and his Office of Attorney General for violating the Second Amendment and due process rights of hundreds of Pennsylvania residents, by failing, since his election as Attorney General in 2017, to timely hold Pennsylvania Instant Check System (“PICS”) challenge appeals and failing to issue decisions; thereby, stripping non-prohibited individuals of their right to keep and bear arms and due process, in perpetuity, per the Pennsylvania State Police statistics.

Specifically, as averred in the Petition for Review

In either absolute dereliction and abdication of his statutory duties or for political purposes, Attorney General Josh Shapiro has failed to timely hear and adjudicate appeals of Pennsylvania Instant Check System (“PICS”) Challenges over the past four years, resulting in individuals, like Petitioner Mangold and members of Petitioner FOAC-ILLEA, being unconstitutionally stripped of their right to bear arms, in violation of Article 1, Section 21 of the Pennsylvania Constitution and the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and right to due process, in violation of Article 1, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution and the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as the result of the Pennsylvania State Police’s erroneous, improper, and unsupportable labeling of Petitioner Mangold and those similarly situated, as prohibited, even when they have submitted evidence establishing that they are neither prohibited under state nor federal law, and resultantly, stripping these non-prohibited individuals from their constitutional right – as set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen, 142 S.Ct. 2111 (2022) – to purchase, possess, and carry a firearm inside and outside of their home for purposes of defense of themselves, their families, and others.

It continues on

As a result of Attorney General Josh Shapiro and his Office of the Attorney General’s (“OAG”) interpretation, implementation, and enforcement of their rules, policies, and practices, in direct defiance of the General Assembly’s mandate, individuals, such as Petitioners, can expect, based on the Pennsylvania State Police’s (“PSP”) statistics regarding decisions by the Attorney General’s Office, that their cases will be adjudicated in approximately 1,076 years, or well past their deaths, ten times over.

And

Not to worry though, based on the same statistics, individuals, such as the Petitioners, can expect to receive a hearing in approximately 215 years, or well past their deaths, three times over.

Perhaps most damning for AG Shapiro is the fact that since being sworn into office, his Office, since 2018, has only heard five appeals and issued one decision and those were all in 2018. From 2019-2021, per the PSP’s own statistics, AG Shapiro’s Office neither heard nor decided a single case. As a result of the PSP statistics, it is believed that more than 250 appeals are pending and have neither received hearings nor decisions. As the Petition further declares

Based on the number of pending appeals and the rates at which hearings are conducted, it will take the OAG over 200 years just to hold hearings in the appeals that are currently pending, irrespective of newly filed appeals

And that

Based on the number of pending appeals and the rates at which hearings are conducted, it will take the OAG over 1,000 years to decide the appeals that are currently pending, irrespective of newly filed appeals

And this isn’t the first time AG Shapiro has violated the constitutional rights of the residents of this Commonwealth. As held by then-Judge (now Justice) Brobson, in granting a preliminary injunction in Landmark Firearms, LLC, et al. v. Evanchick, 694 M.D. 2019, AG Shapiro violated the due process rights of everyone in this Commonwealth by redefining what constituted a firearm, in the absence of going through the legislative process. And perhaps more damning for AG Shapiro was the oral argument that occurred prior to the issuance of the preliminary injunction, where the following colloquy occurred:

According to AG Shapiro and his Office, we’re mere peasants that are to be subjected to the rule of law (which he makes up out of whole cloth), unlike himself and the ruling class, which are to be protected at all cost.

If your constitutional rights have been infringed upon by Attorney General Josh Shapiro or a Commonwealth agency, contact FICG today to discuss YOUR options!

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