Have any state supreme courts invalidated their own state's red flag law and what was the reasoning?
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Executive summary
A handful of state trial‑level judges have declared parts of their state “red flag” or extreme‑risk protection order (ERPO) regimes unconstitutional, most notably in New York where state Supreme Court justices issued opinions in 2022 rejecting ERPOs; those trial rulings have had limited statewide effect because appellate review has been expected or sought [1] [2]. Nationally, the U.S. Supreme Court’s post‑Bruen jurisprudence and related federal rulings have fueled challenges but the high court has not—according to the provided reporting—issued a definitive nationwide judgment invalidating state red‑flag laws [3] [4] [5].
1. Small but visible state‑court blowbacks, led by New York trial rulings
Some state judges have pushed back against ERPOs in individual cases. In December 2022, a New York State Supreme Court justice ruled that the state’s ERPO statute was unconstitutional and declined to issue an order in that case; reporting in regional outlets captured those decisions as trial‑level findings rather than sweeping state supreme court reversals [1] [2]. The Center Square noted two such trial rulings finding ERPOs unconstitutional but also reported officials saying those rulings did not bind statewide practice absent appellate affirmation [2].
2. Why those judges found problems: due process and statutory interpretation
The trial rulings in New York cited constitutional problems—principally due process and limits on how courts may remove firearms—though the provided summaries do not supply the full written opinions’ language. Local reporting framed the judges’ reasoning as concluding that the statute, as applied, ran afoul of constitutional guarantees, which led them to refuse ERPO issuance in the specific matters before them [1] [2]. Available sources do not publish the full legal text of those opinions here; appellate filings and detailed opinions are not in the provided set (not found in current reporting).
3. National legal context: Bruen and post‑Bruen challenges have sharpened scrutiny
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen changed the constitutional test for gun regulations, directing courts to measure laws against the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation; reporters and legal analysts say that has opened a pathway for more aggressive challenges to red‑flag statutes [3] [4]. Coverage in the Christian Science Monitor and Reuters explains that Bruen’s historical‑tradition standard makes many modern gun rules—including ERPOs—vulnerable to constitutional attack unless states can show historical analogues [3] [4].
4. Limited scope of trial rulings and the work still to do
Even where trial judges have struck down ERPOs, those decisions are typically limited to the individual case and remain subject to appeal; New York officials continued to apply ERPOs while appellate processes played out, and commentators observed that a state supreme court injunction would be necessary to halt filings statewide [2]. State appellate courts and state supreme courts, not single trial judges, ultimately determine whether a state’s law stands; the provided reporting shows challengers pursuing that appellate path [2].
5. Competing perspectives in the reporting
News outlets and advocacy organizations frame the issue differently. Supporters of ERPOs cite public‑safety research and argue courts can and should apply ERPO statutes to prevent violence and suicide; legal commentators have also argued that red‑flag laws can be reconciled with Second Amendment doctrine if tailored with due‑process safeguards [3] [6]. Opponents and some trial judges emphasize liberty and procedural concerns, arguing certain applications of ERPO statutes deprive individuals of property and rights without sufficient historical or procedural justification [1] [2].
6. What the sources do not show
The provided materials do not document any state supreme court (the highest court of a state) definitively invalidating an entire state red‑flag law on a statewide basis; the examples cited are trial‑court rulings pending appellate review [1] [2]. The sources also do not include final appellate dispositions or U.S. Supreme Court decisions squarely resolving the constitutionality of state ERPOs after Bruen (not found in current reporting).
7. Bottom line for readers
As of the reporting in these sources, isolated state trial judges have struck down ERPOs in particular cases—New York produced the most cited examples—but those trial rulings have not produced uniform, final state‑supreme‑court invalidations of red‑flag statutes. The national legal landscape remains unsettled because Bruen’s historical‑tradition test has emboldened challenges; resolution requires appellate courts to issue final rulings, which the available reporting does not yet show [1] [3] [4] [2].