Hecker Fink Files Amicus Brief in the Central District of California on behalf of Former Civil Rights Division Officials and Gun Violence Prevention Organizations

On Tuesday, August 4, 2026, Hecker Fink LLP filed an amicus brief on behalf of Former Civil Rights Division Officials, Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and Giffords Center to Prevent Gun Violence in United States v. California, No. 26 Civ. 1697 (C.D. Cal.), where the Department of Justice has brought suit under 34 U.S.C. § 12601 to challenge California’s (1) newly enacted ban (effective July 1, 2026) on machinegun-convertible pistols and (2) safety requirements for new-to-market semiautomatic pistols under the State’s Unsafe Handgun Act.

Hecker Fink’s amicus brief, which can be read here, explains how Congress originally conceived of § 12601 primarily as a way to remedy specific forms of police misconduct—such as the use of excessive force against civilians and discriminatory treatment of disfavored groups—that are traceable to institutional shortcomings within police departments, rather than as a vehicle for bringing facial challenges to state or local laws. The brief further outlines how the Civil Rights Division had historically adhered to that same understanding of the statute in its enforcement practices, and how the present suit starkly departs from that norm. Finally, the brief underscores how the Justice Department’s novel view of the statute departs not only from Congress’s vision for Section 12601, but from the goal of public safety more broadly.

The Hecker Fink team includes Trisha Anderson, Matt Craig, Nic Riley, Stephen Prifti, Zechariah Brown, Andrew Howell, and Tara Davoodi.