New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. City of New York

In N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. City of N.Y., the U.S. Supreme Court declined to address the merits of a case that was rendered moot by government action taken after the Court granted a petition for cert:

“

After we granted certiorari, the State of New York amended its firearm licensing statute, and the City amended the rule so that petitioners may now transport firearms to a second home or shooting range outside of the city, which is the precise relief that petitioners requested in the prayer for relief in their complaint. App. 48. Petitioners’ claim for declaratory and injunctive relief with respect to the City’s old rule is therefore moot.

”

N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. City of N.Y., 140 S. Ct. 1525, 1526 (2020).

The Court remanded the case to the lower courts to see if plaintiffs would be allowed to amend their complaint.

Some suspected the defendant in this case -- the City of New York -- of trying to moot this dispute in order to avoid a ruling by the High Court against gun control.