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Joseph Chapo, et al. v. Jefferson County Plan Commission

Paid petition · Court of Appeals of Indiana, No. 20A-CT-1197 · judgment January 22, 2021


Certiorari denied · November 1, 2021
Pre-decision estimate: 1% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Question presented

The question presented for review, with its subsidiary questions is: Whether the de facto officer doctrine can be applied to individuals claiming to hold a vacant office of a political subdivision made vacant by the General Assembly statute declaring the office vacant, if an appointed officer does not take the mandatory oath to uphold the United States Constitution, where an injunction is sought by the vacant offices to prohibit the use and operation of a shooting range in violation of the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms? Subsidiary question 1 – Whether the Supreme Court has jurisdiction to review the decisions of Indiana State courts that apply the de facto officer doctrine, where the individuals claiming to hold vacant offices violate a protected constitutional right?; Subsidiary question 2 – Whether the failure to take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States is a constitutional structural error, where the individuals claiming to hold vacant offices initiate a court action to prohibit the 2nd Amendment right of persons to use and operate a shooting range?; and Subsidiary question 3 – Whether the de facto officer doctrine can be applied to individuals claiming to hold vacant offices, where the offices are vacant per Indiana law? (i)

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Charles E. McFarland

For respondent
Robert Patrick Magrath
Alcorn Sage Schwartz & Magrath

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Proceedings

  1. Nov 01 2021
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Oct 13 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/29/2021.
  3. Oct 06 2021
    Reply of petitioners Joseph Chapo, Sherry Chapo, Deputy Big Shot LLC filed.
  4. Sep 24 2021
    Brief of respondent Jefferson County Plan Commission in opposition filed.
  5. Aug 25 2021
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 27, 2021)