Kellogg v. Nichols
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · No. 23-8093
⚖️Procedural — no merits ruling
dismissal rested on Article III adversity and the wrong-defendant problem, not on the licensing scheme's validity
GunMapUSA assessment of the outcome's direction, not a statement that the court decided rightly or wrongly.
What the court held
Two men whose New York pistol license applications were denied sued the state judge who denied them, seeking to have the entire state firearms licensing scheme declared unconstitutional and its criminal penalties enjoined. The panel had held the suit barred by Article III because the licensing judge is not an adverse party with any stake in the constitutionality of the statute, and the Second Circuit denied rehearing en banc over dissents by six judges who would have held that the judge acts as an executive officer and is a proper defendant.
Summarized from the court's opinion.
What this case is about
New York handgun licensing under Penal Law § 400.00
GunMapUSA summary of the issue, not a quotation from the court.
Key Dates
- 2025-08-18 — Decided
- 2024-09-25 — Argued
Sources
- CourtListener — retrieved 2026-08-08
Summary of public court records. Not legal advice.