A Biden-Appointed U.S. District Judge, Julien Neals, let’s a NJ AG Subpoena go forward that would have Smith and Wesson have to provide internal documents about the strategy behind marketing their guns as ‘home defense’ tools.
Federal judge dismisses gunmaker’s suit over New Jersey AG’s subpoena
From www.courthousenews.com
2021-08-04 00:38:47
Excerpt:
A federal judge won’t stand in the way of the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office’s effort to investigate how gun manufacturer Smith and Wesson marketed its firearms for home defense and personal protection.
Last year, hoping to head off a subpoena sought by the New Jersey AG’s office, Smith and Wesson turned to the federal courts, arguing its constitutional rights were being infringed: The New Jersey AG’s office was hostile to guns and was using the subpoena to get back at the manufacturer, the gun company said.
But in a 10-page ruling Monday, U.S. District Judge Julien Neals, a Joe Biden appointee, declined to get involved. Noting the litigation in state court over “a challenge to the state’s contempt process,” the judge dismissed Smith and Wesson’s federal complaint.
“[There] is nothing that precludes Smith and Wesson from raising their constitutional concerns in the New Jersey state courts, as evidenced by their multiple state court filings before the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division and Supreme Court,” Neals wrote.
