Summary
The New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, reviews consolidated interlocutory appeals concerning constitutional challenges to New Jersey handgun-permit and age-restriction statutes. The court holds that the defendant lacks standing to challenge the handgun-without-a-permit charge because he did not apply for a permit, but has standing to challenge the statute restricting handgun possession by persons under twenty-one. Applying the Second Amendment historical-tradition framework, the court concludes that the age restriction is constitutional, affirms the denial of dismissal as to count two, reverses dismissal of count three, and remands for reinstatement of that count.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Glover had standing to challenge his prosecution under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(b)(1) when he had not applied for a handgun-carry permit.
- Whether Glover had standing to challenge N.J.S.A. 2C:58-6.1 because he was charged with purchasing or possessing a handgun while under twenty-one, rather than with failing to obtain a permit.
- Whether eighteen- to twenty-year-olds are among 'the people' protected by the Second and Fourteenth Amendments.
- Whether New Jersey's restrictions on the purchase and possession of handguns by persons under twenty-one are consistent with the Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation under New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen and United States v. Rahimi.
Holdings
- A defendant who has not applied for a handgun-carry permit lacks standing to challenge a criminal charge based on possession of a handgun without a permit. Glover's asserted futility based solely on his age did not excuse the application requirement.
- A defendant charged under N.J.S.A. 2C:58-6.1 has standing to challenge that statute without first applying for a handgun permit because lack of a permit is not an element of the offense.
- People between eighteen and twenty years of age are included among 'the people' protected by the Second and Fourteenth Amendments, although they historically did not possess all the rights of persons over twenty-one.
- New Jersey's restrictions on persons under twenty-one purchasing or possessing handguns are constitutional because they are consistent with the Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation.
Key quotations
“When the Second Amendment's plain text covers an individual's conduct, the Constitution presumptively protects that conduct. The government must then justify its regulation by demonstrating that it is consistent with the Nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation.” (A-2407-24 at 9-10)
“Accordingly, New Jersey's age restrictions on the purchase and possession of handguns are consistent with our Nation's historical tradition of restricting minors' access to guns for public safety.” (A-2407-24 at 27-28)
“Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. We do not retain jurisdiction.” (A-2407-24 at 32)
Factual background
On June 3, 2021, Jersey City police observed five men near two vehicles and believed one man had a gun. After defendant Jahmere Glover, then nineteen years old, drove away alone in a Dodge Charger, police stopped the vehicle and saw a gun handle protruding from a bag in the center console. Glover was arrested and later indicted for possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, possession of a handgun without a permit, and possession of a handgun while under twenty-one.
Procedural history
Glover was indicted on three weapons offenses. The Law Division denied dismissal of count two, charging possession of a handgun without a permit, but dismissed count three, charging possession or acquisition of a handgun while under twenty-one, as unconstitutional. The Appellate Division granted both parties leave to appeal, consolidated the appeals, and granted the Attorney General leave to appear as amicus curiae.
Remand instructions
Reinstate count three of the indictment. The portion of the Law Division order denying dismissal of count two was affirmed; the portion dismissing count three was reversed and vacated. The court did not retain jurisdiction.