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Jeremy Kettler v. United States

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, No. 17-3035 · judgment October 16, 2018

Certiorari denied · June 10, 2019
Pre-decision estimate: 6% cert probability (95% interval 4%–10%)

Before the decision, about 1.5× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a circuit split argued in the petition, a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition), and a Tenth Circuit decision below.

Questions presented

Petitioner was convicted of possessing an unregistered firearm sound suppressor in violation of the National Firearms Act of 1934, 26 U.S.C § 5861(d). He challenged whether the NFA continues to be a proper exercise of Congress’s taxing power due to changed circumstances, and if so, whether it imposes an impermissible tax on the exercise of a constitutional right. The Tenth Circuit concluded that it was bound by this Court’s decision in United States v. Sonzinsky, 300 U.S. 506 (1937), upholding the NFA, and that only this Court could overturn its own decisions. The Tenth Circuit also concluded that the Second Amendment protects only “bearable arms,” not including firearm accessories such as sound suppressors. The questions presented are:

  1. Whether the National Firearms Act of 1934, upheld in Sonzinsky, continues to be a constitutional exercise of Congress’s taxing power when the justifications for that decision have significantly eroded over the last 82 years.

  2. Whether the Second Amendment protects firearm accessories such as sound suppressors.

  3. Whether the tax imposed by the National Firearms Act, targeting the exercise of a Second Amendment right, violates the rule of Murdock v. Pennsylvania, 319 U.S. 105 (1943) and Cox v. New Hampshire, 312 U.S. 669 (1941).

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Robert Jeffrey Olson
William J. Olson P.C.

For respondent
Noel John Francisco
Jones Day

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Amicus briefs
2 cert-stage

Related
Vide, 18-7451

Proceedings

  1. Jun 10 2019
    Petition DENIED.
  2. May 23 2019
    Reply of petitioner Jeremy Kettler filed. (Distributed)
  3. May 21 2019
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/6/2019.
  4. May 06 2019
    Brief of United States of America in opposition not accepted for filing. (Duplicate submission) (May 07, 2019)
  5. May 06 2019
    Brief of respondent United States of America in opposition filed.
  6. Apr 17 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including May 6, 2019.
  7. Apr 16 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from April 22, 2019 to May 6, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
  8. Mar 01 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 21, 2019 to April 22, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
  9. Mar 01 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including April 22, 2019.
  10. Feb 19 2019
    Brief amici curiae of Kansas, et al. filed.
  11. Feb 19 2019
    Brief amici curiae of Downsize DC Foundation, et al filed.
  12. Feb 15 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including March 21, 2019.
  13. Feb 13 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from February 19, 2019 to March 21, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
  14. Jan 14 2019
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due February 19, 2019)