New York Litigation Team Files 8th Circuit Ghost Guns Amicus for 16 U.S. Cities and Prosecutors Against Gun Violence

NEW YORK (August 31, 2023)—Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that a New York-based litigation team filed an amicus brief on behalf of 16 major U.S. cities and Prosecutors Against Gun Violence before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in support of the federal government's rule that aims to bring "ghost guns" under the same federal regulation as traditional firearms.

Following briefing by the parties and the amici, the Eighth Circuit on August 22 affirmed a lower court's upholding of the rule in the face of a legal challenge. The litigation team included partners Arthur Greenspan, Rachel Mechanic, David Massey, and Lee Richards, as well as counsel Jacob Taber.

The amicus brief was filed by the litigation team on behalf of a group of amici, which included the cities of Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Columbus, Dayton, Hartford, Los Angeles, Newark, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia, Providence, Rochester, San Francisco, Syracuse and Seattle, as well as the group Prosecutors Against Gun Violence.

The brief argued that the federal rule is necessary to stop the dangerous proliferation of ghost guns on the streets of the amici's cities and to promote public safety. The full brief is available to read here.