Illinois assault weapons ban case will likely head to Supreme Court, expert says
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois gun sellers were bracing Saturday for a surge in sales. This comes after a downstate judge temporarily halted the state's ban on so-called assault weapons and high capacity magazines.
But there are questions about where this case goes next and how long customers might be able to access the items on the banned list.
One of the plaintiffs trying to end the ban says this is their first win. But he was cautiously optimistic, expecting the case to now head to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Late Friday, U.S. District Judge Stephen McGlynn in East St. Louis handed out a 29-page injunction that essentially put a temporary block on the state law banning the sale of assault-style weapons and high capacity magazines.
Many now expect the state attorney general will appeal that ruling with the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. We do have an idea of what the circuit court might say because they looked at another injunction from a Naperville gun dealer earlier this month. A judge denied that request for an injunction, writing that the ban is constitutionally sound.
Gov. JB Pritzker has always stood behind the ban saying it will hold up in court. Experts say it's not a slam dunk for either side, and ultimately this will go to the Supreme Court.
"It's going to be a situation where we're going to all just have to sit back and wait because these lower courts aren't going to decide this case," said CBS 2 Legal Analyst Irv Miller. "It's going to be the High Court of the land, and that's that. Frankly, that's where it should be."
Miller says nothing goes quickly when it comes to the legal process, but he expects this could be filed with the Supreme Court within the next several months and possibly decided within a year.
