Attorneys representing the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and Maryland resident Donald S. Willey have submitted an appellants’ brief to the Maryland Supreme Court in their federal challenge of that state’s so-called “red flag” law. The case is known as Willey v. Brown and was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in August 2023.
Mr. Willey, a 64-year-old Marine Corps veteran, has been battling officials in Maryland’s Dorchester County over alleged di minimis nuisance and zoning infractions. Ultimately, Willey became the subject of an Extreme Risk Protective Order (“ERPO”) to have his firearms and ammunition confiscated for allegedly making threats, which Willey steadfastly denied. Willey was forced to endure a humiliating involuntary mental health evaluation. The federal lawsuit alleges Willey’s constitutional rights were violated for nearly two weeks, after which his firearms were returned.
Background from the complaint:
On June 15, 2023, after a Temporary Extreme Risk Protective Order (ERPO) was issued against Willey, Dorchester County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at his residence to seize his firearms. Despite Willey’s cooperation in surrendering his firearms to avoid arrest, he was informed that he was required to undergo an involuntary mental health evaluation at the University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Cambridge.
Willey was transported to the hospital against his will, where he was subjected to several non-consensual tests, including a blood-alcohol test, a comprehensive metabolic panel, and a urinalysis drug screen. He was also forced to change into a hospital gown for the evaluation. According to the complaint, this experience was deeply humiliating and traumatic for Willey, resulting in a diagnosis of “acute stress reaction” due to the extreme circumstances surrounding the seizure of his firearms and the evaluation process.
This incident underscores Willey’s legal argument that the Red Flag Law violated his constitutional rights by authorizing such measures without sufficient probable cause.
SAF and Mr. Willey are represented by attorneys Mark W. Pennak at Maryland Shall Issue in Baltimore, and by Edward A. Paltzik, Serge Krimnus and Meredith Lloyd at Bochner PLLC in New York.
While the federal case remains active, it hinges on the interpretation of Maryland state law, so the federal district court certified two questions of law for the Maryland Supreme Court to answer. Once the Maryland courts interpret/define “reasonable grounds” as used in the state’s ERPO law, the federal lawsuit will resume. Those questions are:
- What legal standard does the term “reasonable grounds” connote in the Maryland RFL, codified in Title Five of the Public Safety Article of Maryland Annotated Code?
- Does the statute permit an ERPO to issue upon a standard less than probable cause?
“This case is about how so-called ‘red-flag laws’ can be weaponized against private citizens, and in order to flesh this out for our federal case, we’re asking the Maryland high court to define the meaning of ‘reasonable grounds’ in the state ERPO statute,” SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb explained.
“Answers to our questions will help make our case against Maryland’s law,” noted SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “Red flag laws are based on the inherently Orwellian belief that you can take actions against someone for an alleged crime that hasn’t occurred. Such laws authorize seizure and punishment for a crime nobody committed but which could occur at some place and time in the future. The concept is absurd.”
For more information, visit saf.org.
Second Amendment Foundation
The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, SAF has grown to more than 720,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.
This is a good case. I hope they continue. Red Flag Laws all needs to be sued out of exhistance.
Gotlieb’s a crook,
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/31/Conservative-fund-raiser-gets-prison-for-tax-evasion/9880454824000/
Maybe the Democrats in 1984 were out to get him? Wonder if it was an Informant Claims Case, or was his return was kicked out thru normal audit prodedures. Or if the source of the audit is “secret” or “classified” as they did a “Lois Lerner” job on Gotlieb.
He was a Republican all the way, a Republican Party fundraiser, in the hay days of the Reagan era. I doubt it was partisan. Plus he plead guilty…
Really, you’re using a conviction from 30 years ago for tax evasion to disparage his current pro-2A work? If you want to critique him, go with the CCRKBA’s support for Manchin-Toomey, but even that’s getting stale and he pretty clearly stated his logic at the time (not that I agreed with it, but he was honest about it).
Not sure why you had to post this twice. See below.
Really, you’re using a tax evasion conviction from 30 years ago to disparage his pro-2A work? If you want to critique him, go with the CCRKBA’s support for Manchin-Toomey, but even that’s getting stale and he pretty clearly stated his logic at the time (not that I agreed with it, but he was honest about it).
Not sure why you had to post that twice.
I bring it up, not to disparage his work, but to raise awareness. I’m sure you’re aware of corruption at the NRA. I’d like to know, whether or not SAF/CCRKBA is run honest and right, or run like the NRA.
Do you know the answers? I don’t. But I find it difficult to trust a man who’s president of a non profit, who has a history of criminal financial problems.
So are you the same Brian who owns Ammoland? And the Brian who wrote here, went by Rev. Brian Norris?
Civil rights violation under color of authority. Charge the offending police.
ERPOs or Red Flag laws are likely to be used as an alternative means to coerce the victims to comply with unrelated issues. They are very often used in divorce and child/property custody cases in California. California has a book of cases on this issue because they started executing Red Flag laws in 2015. So, if a vindictive spouse wants to get more in a divorce settlement they can allege an extreme risk and do so without consequences of perjury. There are no consequences for making a false allegation. That protection is baked in to the statute. When law is… Read more »
Many attorneys in California simply, as a mater of policy, include oders disarming he opposong spouse. these documents are simply added to the pile, the one persuing the divorce jus goes through the pile and signs them all. Friend of mine’s brother was being divorced by his ex wife. One of these was in the pile. He had moved ou of state, the papers never got to him, years later in a different state he ried to buy a rifle and got snagged as prohibited. My friend, with whom his brother was then living jhad a visi from the local… Read more »
A article that said 80% of all divorces are started by women. Wives get bored with their husbands after a few years and then get themselves a boyfriend who’s a ex con, unemployed, biker dude, who gets into bar fights and she just loves her new ” bad boy boyfriend”! The womans divorce lawyer will file a restraining order against the husband. Even though he has done nothing wrong. Her lawyer will accuse the husband of being threatening to the wife , and abusing and molesting his own children! Guys stay single! Your life will be so much more rewarding… Read more »
needs to file a lawsuit for illegal detainment and all the staff at the center need to be named, make them all feal the pain so next time they say hell no
Red Flag laws violate the Fourth Amendment “right of due process”.
the only way to stop government violations of rights is for people to go out and grab enforcers and hang them for violating rights , remember bureau of land management fiasco, they were stopped by people…all the agents and atf and fbi present should have been disarmed and caged…government has gotten emboldened by their successes like waco,and ruby ridge they need a black eye it will take a sustained effort to get goobers back in line but it could be done
Aim to misbehave.
Are you the Brian who censors all of our comments?
all red flag laws/erpo’s are minority report fiction and totally unrelated to reality.
they don’t help, look at how many “people” were known to law enforcement before they committed a heinous crime.
surely the government, state, county or local has proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he was a threat to himself or others. where is that proof? otherwise, how can they legally seize him or his firearms and ammunition?
NOTE TO VETERANS: If you’re a gun owner and live in a state that has ERPO’s – aka -“Red Flag” laws, you could easily be the next “Donald S. Willey”.
In many jurisdictions the hate against United States military veterans,ever since the sixties, is alive and continues to grow unabated. We get no respect.
These illegal red flag laws can easily be abused by vindictive ex wives, neighbors, politicians, police.
This red flag law is just like the “Domestic Laws” that allow “Shall arrest” for violations of a restraining order without witnesses or evidence and only on Testimony of the holder of the order. Saw it abused many times over a 25 year career as a Police Officer. Everytime I read of these foolish red flag laws I think of this..
Someone should dig deeper into the reason for the ERPO. I would want to know who reported him as a threat and who issued the ERPO.
“Mr. Willey, a 64-year-old Marine Corps veteran, has been battling officials in Maryland’s Dorchester County over alleged di minimis nuisance and zoning infractions. Ultimately, Willey became the subject of an Extreme Risk Protective Order (“ERPO”) to have his firearms and ammunition confiscated for allegedly making threats, which Willey steadfastly denied.”
It sounds like vindictive city and county officials who didn’t want their authority questioned and get angry on zoning issues.
Willey is lucky that someone didn’t ” plant” a pound of coke or fentanyl in his home while he was under evaluation at the hospital.
how many cops have pointed a gun in traffic…road rage …..I know of 5 one a highway patrol major
According to an extremely and unsurprisingly biased Trace article, the official was Susan Webb. At no point in the article is it made clear that Willey directly threatened Webb. The ERPO was based on anonymous tips with uncorroborated/unverified reports that he was threatening violence. In other words, nothing that would survive a minute in an actual court of law, and yet Webb was able to get a judge to unconstitutionally deprive Willey of is 2nd and 4th Amendment rights. What a crock, I hope Webb burns.
The Ugly Campaign to Undo the Red Flag Gun Compromise (thetrace.org)
You ought to know. You’re a woke lefty who says he was at Pendleton in ’75 qualifying with an M14. But you know nothing of guns. You even claim you were in Korea in ’98 when they were using M1 Garands and M1 Carbines… Not the K2’s they actually had been using since 1985…
If this case does not result in sufficient relief, we may be at the point of standing your ground when the red flag police arrive. While they may have a warrant, that warrant is a constitutional violation, irrespective of what an unconstitutional judge may decide. Hopefully the incident would stir things up enough that the judges actions will be questioned. At that point, this group can muster to the defense of the victim.
Otherwise, it is more of the same. The time is near.
HLB
I can’t believe that they are asking the question to clarify what reasonable grounds are. It’s the government, it should be realized that the interpretation or the definition of reasonable grounds is whatever the F they want because they are the government, they are in control of everyone and they can use unconstitutional means to obtain weapons and demand a mental evaluation because THEY have deemed that the person needs one. Not a psychiatrist that went to his house to talk to him. It’s all BS. Time to start refusing to comply and let the chips fall where they may.… Read more »
now he has a reason to line them up , hope he uses a rope or suv
RIGHTEOUS Reason to be FURIOUS, YES! USE the WEAPONIZED LAW SYSTEM to its FULLEST EXTENT to FINE, SUE and SUPPRESS These UN-Constitutional GUN-GRABBING ILLEGAL actions!
Government has never been delegated a power that it has not subsequently abused.
Why would ERPOs be any different?
I’m just waiting for someone to use a Red Flag law to disarm their intended victim before murdering them.
they have used swatting to have police murder their mark, so just a mater of time
The contact information for Susan Webb, the Dorchester County official responsible for the unconstitutional ERPO, is publicly available on the county’s website:
Planning & Zoning StaffOffice Phone – 410-228-3234Susan Webb
Director of Planning & Zoning
[email protected]
Alan Gotlieb has a sketchy past. He plead guilty to tax fraud. And just like the NRA, I’m not giving money to him either.
https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/05/31/Conservative-fund-raiser-gets-prison-for-tax-evasion/9880454824000/