The U.S. Department of Justice has issued its proposed criteria and procedural framework for the restoration of firearm rights to those with federal prohibitions, most of which falls under the federal “felon-in-possession” prohibition of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). The Proposed Rule is designed to disqualify violent offenders, while insuring a sufficient amount of time has passed[…]
Justice Department Issues Framework for Firearm Rights Restoration
Civil Rights, Gun Law Jul 21, 2025
DOJ Files Amicus Brief in Support of Harrel Plaintiffs In Pica Case
Civil Rights, Gun Law Jun 18, 2025
The United States Department of Justice has filed an amicus brief in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the Firm’s Harrel Plaintiffs and the plaintiffs in the three other cases consolidated with Harrel. A trial was held last September in the Southern District of Illinois against the PICA assault-weapon law, where the District Judge struck down PICA[…]
United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois Judge Stephen McGlynn has issued an Opinion declaring the State of Illinois’s bans on semi-automatic rifles and magazines to be unconstitutional infringements of the Second Amendment, and has also entered a permanent injunction against the law, commonly known as “PICA”. The Court wrote, “[C]onsidering all[…]
The Firm has obtained a summary judgment from the federal Court in the Northern District of Illinois, declaring that the state law prohibiting the Plaintiffs – Illinois concealed carry licenseholders – from carrying concealed firearms on public transportation (specifically Metra and CTA in this case) is an unconstitutional violation of their Second Amendment rights. The[…]
In NRA v. Vullo, released May 30, 2024, a 9-0 Supreme Court has ruled that the NRA plausibly alleged that a New York official violated the First Amendment by coercing regulated entities to terminate their business relationships with the NRA in order to punish or suppress gun-promotion advocacy, with which the official disagreed. The Opinion begins[…]
Illinois’s Gun Ban and PICA Law on the Agenda at Supreme Court’s May 16th Conference
Gun Law, Uncategorized May 03, 2024
The Supreme Court announced on April 30, 2024 that it will be distributing the Harrel v. Raoul case for discussion in its May 16, 2024 conference. During this conference, the Court’s Justices will discuss and possibly vote on whether or not to accept the case for hearing. Sigale represents the Plaintiffs in Harrel, which include the Illinois State[…]
Sigale Seeks U.S. Supreme Court Review in Harrel Rifle and Magazine Ban Case
Civil Rights, Gun Law Feb 13, 2024
Attorney David G. Sigale, has filed with his co-counsel a Petition for Writ of Certiorari before the United States Supreme Court, seeking review of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal’s 2-1 panel decision in Bevis v. City of Naperville, which upheld the State’s ban on many semi-automatic firearms and magazines. The firm represents the Plaintiffs in Harrel v. Raoul,[…]
Attorney David G. Sigale, in conjunction with attorneys for two other consolidated cases in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, has filed for a full-Court, or en banc, review of the Court’s recent 2-1 panel decision in Bevis v. City of Naperville, which upheld the State’s ban on many semi-automatic firearms and magazines. The Firm represents the[…]
Today, Attorney David G. Sigale achieved two favorable Court Opinions with potentially large impacts on the nature and exercise of Second Amendment rights. First, Atkinson v. Garland involves the question of whether long-ago non-violent felons can be permanently disarmed under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Plaintiff had requested a hearing to show that – despite his conviction –[…]
The Law Firm of David G. Sigale, P.C. is pleased to report that the Tennessee Court of Appeals in Nashville has entered a judgment in favor of the Firm’s client in Braden v. Columbia Housing & Redevelopment Corp. The case was an appeal on behalf of a public housing resident who had been evicted when he was forced to defend himself[…]
The Law Firm of David G. Sigale has filed a lawsuit on behalf of four individuals against the Illinois Attorney General and four county State’s Attorneys over the state’s prohibition on concealed carry licensees exercising that right on public transportation. The case is docketed in the federal Court in Rockford, Illinois, and is titled Schoenthal, et[…]
Recently, David G. Sigale obtained a reversal of the Defendant’s conviction for resisting and/or obstructing arrest in State v. Elliott, 2022 IL App (2d) 210359-U. In Elliott, a police officer began following the Defendant, whom he believed he observed speeding. After following the Defendant for some time, the officer realized the Defendant was actually home. In fact,[…]
On September 2, 2021, the Illinois Supreme Court issued its Opinion in Evans v. Cook County State’s Attorney. The Court reversed an appellate ruling that Section 10 of the FOID Card Act could never be used to restore the firearm rights of felons because of its interplay with the federal felon-in-possession prohibition, and because of the[…]
Settlement Reached in 2018 Civil Lawsuit Filed by Former Hononegah Student
Civil Rights Aug 18, 2021
The Firm and its client resolved a long-running First Amendment lawsuit against the client’s high school and its administrators regarding her efforts to express a non-mainstream viewpoint during a protest walkout at the school after the Parkland, Florida tragedy in 2018. The Firm was proud to be of service, and is proud of its client[…]
The Law Firm of David G. Sigale, P.C. is part of an excellent legal team representing the Illinois State Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation, and the Firearms Policy Coalition, as well as three individuals, in a lawsuit challenging the State of Illinois’s prohibition on 18-20-year-olds from obtaining a concealed carry license, even if they have[…]
There is a new chapter in the case of Vivian Brown, the southern-Illinois resident who was charged with having a bolt-action rifle in her home for self-defense without a FOID card. The case was heard and avoided by the Illinois Supreme Court, and remanded with instructions to the parties to basically start over. By then,[…]
Sigale Files Lawsuit For Federal Firearm Rights Restoration
Civil Rights, Gun Law, Uncategorized Jan 28, 2021
In 2018, in Kanter v. Barr, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a person convicted of a federal felony, no matter how long ago and no matter how non-violent the nature of the offense, could never have their Second Amendment rights restored. The Court effectively ruled: once a felon, always a felon. This contradicts[…]
As a firefighter, S.M. has dedicated his career to helping others and saving lives in his community. It is fitting to call him a hero. In addition, he is a family man and an all-around decent guy. But in 1994, when he was 18, he got into a fight at a high school party that[…]
The case People of the State of Illinois v Vivian Claudine Brown, in which the circuit/trial court struck down the Illinois FOID law as applied to her only, is currently pending in the Illinois Supreme Court. Ms. Brown possessed a simple rifle which was kept in her home next to the bed for self-defense purposes. […]
The Law Firm of David G. Sigale, P.C. has recently obtained a ruling that the Village of Deerfield exceeded its authority when it enacted an assault weapon ban (AWB) and large capacity magazine (LCM) ban. In Easterday v. Village of Deerfield, a Judge in the Lake County Circuit Court held the ordinances to be unenforceable[…]
David G. Sigale recently addressed the many attendees at the Second Amendment Foundation’s annual Gun Rights Policy Conference, which was held this year in Phoenix, Arizona. Sigale spoke on updates to Illinois firearm laws and lawsuits, including the pending challenge to the State’s assault weapon ban which is currently in the Seventh Circuit Court of[…]