Kuhlman v. Georgia
Annotate this CaseAfter the Georgia Board of Public Safety (“the Board”) denied Rick Kuhlman’s application for relief from the prohibition on the possession of firearms by convicted felons in OCGA § 16-11-131, Kuhlman sued the State of Georgia seeking a declaratory judgment “that he qualifies for relief” from that prohibition pursuant to subsection (d) of the statute. His complaint also included claims that the statute, as applied to him, violated his right to bear arms under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section I, Paragraph VIII of the Georgia Constitution of 1983. The superior court granted summary judgment to the State on all claims. In its order, the court ruled that Kuhlman’s statutory claim was barred by sovereign immunity, that he could not maintain his federal constitutional claim, and that OCGA § 16-11-131 did not violate the state constitution. Nevertheless, the superior court went on to rule in the alternative on the merits of Kuhlman’s statutory claim, but it failed to reach the merits of his federal constitutional claim. The Georgia Supreme Court reversed the portion of the superior court’s judgment that was based on sovereign immunity, affirmed the court’s alternative ruling on the merits of Kuhlman’s statutory claim, vacated the portion of the judgment that related to Kuhlman’s constitutional claims, and remanded the case to the superior court for reconsideration of Kuhlman’s constitutional claims.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.