Chardin v. Police Commissioner of Boston, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-096-13)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports.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‑11196 MIRKO CHARDIN vs. POLICE COMMISSIONER OF BOSTON & another.[1] Suffolk. February 4, 2013. ‑ June 4, 2013. Present: Ireland, C.J., Spina, Cordy, Botsford, Gants, Duffly, & Lenk, JJ. Firearms. License. Constitutional Law, Right to bear arms. Delinquent Child. Civil action commenced in the Supreme Judicial Court for the county of Suffolk on October 13, 2011. The case was reported by Spina, J. Edward F. George, Jr., for the plaintiff. Keith G. Langer for Commonwealth Second Amendment, Inc., amicus curiae. William W. Porter, Assistant Attorney General, for the intervener. Amanda E. Wall, for the defendant, was present but did not argue. SPINA, J. In this case, here on a reservation and report by a single justice of this court, we consider whether the Massachusetts firearms licensing statute, G. L. c. 140, § 131 (d) (i), infringes on Mirko Chardin’s right to keep and bear arms under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution because it precludes him from ever obtaining a license to carry firearms where, in 1995, he was adjudicated a delinquent child[2] after admitting to sufficient facts on a complaint charging him with one count of possession of a firearm without a license, and one count of unlawful possession of ammunition. We conclude that, consistent with the United States Supreme Court’s decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008) (Heller), and McDonald v. Chicago, 130 S. Ct. 3020 (2010) (McDonald), the challenged statute does not infringe on a right protected by the Second Amendment.[3] 1. Statutory scheme. An individual who lawfully wants to carry a firearm[4] within the Commonwealth either must obtain a license to do so pursuant to G. L. c. 140, § 131, or be exempt from the statutory licensing requirements.[5] See, e.g., G. L. c. 140, §§ 129C, 131F, 131G. See also Commonwealth v. Seay, 376 Mass. 735, 739 (1978). “The historical aim of licensure generally is preservation of public health, safety, and welfare by extending the public trust only to those with proven qualifications.” Leduc v. Commonwealth, 421 Mass. 433, 435 (1995), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 827 (1996). In Massachusetts, there are two categories of licenses to carry firearms — Class A and Class B. See G. L. c. 140, § 131 (a) & (b). Each type of license may be issued by a “licensing authority,” […]