Second Amendment Roundup: 2d Circuit Upholds License Denials by N.Y. Judge

On August 18, the Second Circuit decided Kellogg v. Nichols , a suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against a New York state judge who denied applications by two individuals for firearm licenses. The court affirmed the district court's dismissal of their individual-capacity claims as barred by absolute judicial immunity and then dismissed their official-capacity claims for injunctive and declaratory relief as lacking an Article III case-or-controversy.

As Kellogg explains, the state judge denied applicant Kellogg's permit based on his "criminal arrest history and inadequate explanations for failing to disclose that history." The reasons for the arrests are not stated. He also "ruled that [applicant] Harmon's criminal history, including a youthful-offender adjudication for first-degree robbery, li