Mahoney v. City of Seattle, No. 14-35970 (9th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this CaseThe use of force policy adopted by the City of Seattle does not violate the Second Amendment right of police officers to use firearms for the core lawful purpose of self-defense. The Ninth Circuit applied a two-step analysis and held that the policy was subject to Second Amendment protection because the policy—an employer policy that regulates a police officer's use of a department-issued firearm while on duty—did not resemble any of the "presumptively lawful" regulations recognized in District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 574–75, 635 (2008), and the parties have adduced no evidence that the policy imposed a restriction on conduct that falls outside the historical scope of the Second Amendment right to use a firearm for self-defense. The panel applied intermediate scrutiny to determine whether the policy violated the Second Amendment and held that there was a reasonable fit between the policy and Seattle's important interest in promoting the safety of the public and its police officers. Therefore, the panel affirmed the district court's dismissal of the Second Amendment claim. The panel also affirmed the district court's dismissal of the remaining substantive due process and equal protection claims.
Court Description: Second Amendment. The panel affirmed the district court’s judgment upholding the use of force policy adopted by the City of Seattle; and rejected the claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 of plaintiffs, a group of approximately 125 Seattle Police Department (“SPD”) officers who allege that Seattle violated the Second Amendment right of police officers to use firearms for the core lawful purpose of self-defense. The panel applied a two-step inquiry to determine whether the challenged law or regulation violated the Second Amendment. At step one, the panel assumed without deciding that the use of force policy was subject to Second Amendment protection. At step two, the panel held that the use of force policy recognized that the plaintiffs could use their department-issued firearms in self-defense in an encounter with a suspect, and concluded that the use of force policy did not impose a substantial burden on plaintiffs’ right to use a firearm for the purpose of lawful self-defense. The panel also concluded that the use of force policy was not such a severe restriction that it amounted to a destruction of the Second Amendment right. The panel, therefore, applied the intermediate level of constitutional scrutiny to determine whether the policy violated the Second Amendment. Applying intermediate scrutiny, the panel concluded that the use of force policy was constitutional under the Second 6 MAHONEY V. CITY OF SEATTLE Amendment because there was a reasonable fit between the policy of Seattle’s important government interest in ensuring the safety of both the public and its police officers. The panel also affirmed the district court’s dismissal of plaintiffs’ substantive due process and equal protection claims.
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