Deerfield Gets Pro Bono Legal Defense In Assault Weapon Ban Suits

DEERFIELD, IL — Trustees unanimously approved Monday an offer of free legal assistance from a national gun control group and one of the largest law firms in the country to defend the village's assault weapon ban. The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and Seattle-based Perkins Coie have been appointed as pro bono special counsel to represent Deerfield in two lawsuits filed in state court since the passage of an amendment last month to a local ordinance prohibiting the possession, sale and manufacture of certain semi-automatic weapons.

The Deerfield Village Board adopted its amended ordinance on April 2. Deerfield resident Daniel Easterday, backed by the Illinois State Rifle Association and the Second Amendment Foundation, filed suit against the law a few days later. A second suit was filed by William Wombacher and Guns Save Life, Inc. with the assistance of the National Rifle Association on April 19.

Both lawsuits were filed in Lake County Circuit Court and neither makes any Second Amendment claims. Instead, they argue the village's actions violate state firearm and wildlife laws, the Illinois Constitution and that the ban should be seen as a "new ordinance" rather than, as the village contends, as an amendment as specifically permitted under state law.

Deerfield's newly appointed village attorney, Steve Elrod of Holland & Knight, arranged the same legal team that was used to defend Highland Park's firearm ban. Deerfield's regulation is closely modeled on that ordinance, which was upheld in federal court.

Elrod, who also represents Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Northbrook and Glencoe, will be in charge of the general litigation strategy, while the bulk of the legal work will be handled by Christopher Wilson of Perkins Coie's Chicago office and Jonathan Lowy of the Brady Center.

"They believe in the village's cause, they believe in the defense of the village's ordinance and they believe what you have done is lawful," Elrod told trustees on May 7. "They will be working with me to ensure a successful outcome to the litigation matters."

Mayor Harriet Rosenthal said she was delighted to be able to have the "vast majority" of the cost of the litigation covered.

"Steve is going to be our quarterback on the issues, and we know we're on the right side of the argument," Rosenthal said.

The mayor asked village staff to look into the possibility of amending the village's assault weapons regulations on Feb. 20 in the wake of the mass shooting at in Parkland, Florida. In that incident, a former student is accused of bringing a legally purchased AR-15 "modern sporting rifle" and a duffel bag full of ammunition reportedly bearing swastikas into his former high school and firing close to 100 rounds, killing 17 people and wounding 16 more.

"We hope that our local decision helps spur state and national leaders to take steps to make our communities safer," Rosenthal said following the adoption of the ban. The move has been championed by local high school students, who marched to village hall the month after the massacre during a national school walkout.

Illinois gun laws were overhauled in 2013 in response to the Supreme Court's 2010 McDonald vs Chicago decision that invalidated the city's handgun ban. That resulted in the state's strict regulations being tossed out in federal court, as it applied Second Amendment self defense rights to the states.

The resulting compromise by lawmakers in Springfield — the Firearm Concealed Carry Act and the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act – included a clause allowing for 10 days in which municipalities could pass their own regulations on guns. It also provided those local regulations could be amended in future.

Highland Park, Highwood, North Chicago, Evanston, Skokie and several other towns all banned the weapons outright. The led to a challenge from a resident and the case of Friedman v. Highland Park. The municipal ban was upheld by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court declined to review it, with only Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia in favor of hearing the challenge.

Deerfield approved a so-called "placeholder" ordinance at the time that included a definition of assault weapons – semi-automatic rifles, shotguns and handguns with certain features – as well requirements for their safe storage and transportation. Village officials believe that July 2013 ordinance preserved its right under state law, as a home rule municipality, to expand its regulation into an outright ban on the weapons.

Deerfield's mayor and village manager have also asserted its amended ordinance bans magazines that can hold more than 10 bullets, although no such ban exists in the plain text of the law, as it does in Highland Park's code. One of the legal challenges to the ordinance seeks a declaration from a judge on that issue.

According to Highland Park police records, nine people have been issued 14 citations for violations of its municipal assault weapon ban. Two tickets issued earlier this year remain pending, but all others have pleaded guilty for fines of up to $500 and/or up to 6 months supervision.

Deerfield's ban takes effect June 13. At that point police who come into contact with prohibited weapons will have the power to able to "confiscate any assault weapon of any person charged with a violation" under the the ban. Residents would also be subject to daily fines of up to $1,000.

"We're not going to be going door to door," Rosenthal has said.

Read More:

• Deerfield Assault Weapons Ban Doesn't Really Ban Magazines: 2nd Lawsuit Challenges Ordinance
  
• Deerfield Assault Weapon Ban Challenged In Lake County Court
• Deerfield Bans Assault Weapons, High-Capacity Magazines