Chief of Police of the City of Worcester v. Holden (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-041-15)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA, 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC-11682 CHIEF OF POLICE OF THE CITY OF WORCESTER vs. RAYMOND J. HOLDEN, JR. Worcester. November 6, 2014. – March 11, 2015. Present: Gants, C.J., Spina, Cordy, Botsford, Duffly, Lenk, & Hines, JJ. Firearms. License. Constitutional Law, Right to bear arms, Vagueness of statute. Due Process of Law, Revocation of license, Vagueness of statute. Words, “Suitable person.” Civil action commenced in the Superior Court Department on December 6, 2011. The case was heard by James R. Lemire, J., on motions for judgment on the pleadings. The Supreme Judicial Court granted an application for direct appellate review. Mel L. Greenberg for the defendant. Kevin M. Gould, Assistant City Solicitor (David M. Moore, City Solicitor, with him) for the plaintiff. Julia Kobick, Assistant Attorney General, for the Commonwealth, amicus curiae. The following submitted briefs for amici curiae: Jonathan E. Lowy, Kelly Sampson, Elizabeth Burke, Jonathan L. Diesenhaus, James W. Clayton, & Anna M. Kelly, of the District of Columbia, & Kathy B. Weinman for Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Ben T. Clements & Lila E. Slovak for Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, Inc., & others. Edward F. George, Jr., & Susan Chu for Gun Owners’ Action League, Inc. Karen L. MacNutt for Commonwealth Second Amendment, Inc. SPINA, J. This case mounts a challenge under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution[1] to the constitutionality of the “suitable person” standard in G. L. c. 140, § 131 (d) and (f), as amended through St. 1998, c. 180, § 41, by which licenses to carry firearms were issued, suspended, or revoked between 2005 and 2010.[2] The chief of police of the city of Worcester (chief) determined, based on the history of domestic violence of Raymond J. Holden, Jr., against his wife, that Holden was not a suitable person to have such a license. Holden sought judicial review of three separate adverse decisions of the chief: suspension of his license, then revocation of his license, and finally denial of his application for a new license to carry. After a complex history of District Court litigation that was consolidated and resolved largely in favor of Holden, the chief sought certiorari review in the Superior Court. On cross motions for judgment on the pleadings, a judge in the Superior Court ruled in favor of the […]