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Judge to halt provision making California gun suits costlier
https://apnews.com/article/politics-california-537fa9d77bb0ab24f4b1b765278494a4Judge to halt provision making California gun suits costlier
By JULIE WATSON and ADAM BEAM
December 16, 2022
FILE - California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to reporters at Del Mar Fairgrounds on Feb. 18, 2022, in Del Mar, Calif. On Friday, Dec. 16, 2022, U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez said he will issue an injunction to block part of a new state law that critics say would make it nearly impossible to challenge the state's gun laws in court. Newsom has championed the law and defended it in court. (Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP, File)
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal judge on Friday said he will block a provision in a new California law to take effect next year that gun advocates argued was designed to hinder anyone from challenging the state’s famously restrictive gun laws.
U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez said he would issue the injunction requested by gun clubs as soon as possible to halt the provision that would force people who file lawsuits over California’s gun laws to pay the government’s legal fees if they lose. The judge announced his plans during a federal hearing in San Diego.
The ruling will block only the provision and not the entire law, which bans the sale of some assault weapons and allows private citizens to sue people who violate those rules. The law is modeled after a Texas measure passed in 2021 that aimed to enforce that state’s ban on most abortions by empowering private citizens to enforce the ban by filing lawsuits in civil court.
Benitez said the fee provision would have a “chilling effect” on the public’s right to challenge the government in court because people would not want to take the risk of being liable for expensive legal fees.
[...]
By JULIE WATSON and ADAM BEAM
December 16, 2022
FILE - California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to reporters at Del Mar Fairgrounds on Feb. 18, 2022, in Del Mar, Calif. On Friday, Dec. 16, 2022, U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez said he will issue an injunction to block part of a new state law that critics say would make it nearly impossible to challenge the state's gun laws in court. Newsom has championed the law and defended it in court. (Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP, File)
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal judge on Friday said he will block a provision in a new California law to take effect next year that gun advocates argued was designed to hinder anyone from challenging the state’s famously restrictive gun laws.
U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez said he would issue the injunction requested by gun clubs as soon as possible to halt the provision that would force people who file lawsuits over California’s gun laws to pay the government’s legal fees if they lose. The judge announced his plans during a federal hearing in San Diego.
The ruling will block only the provision and not the entire law, which bans the sale of some assault weapons and allows private citizens to sue people who violate those rules. The law is modeled after a Texas measure passed in 2021 that aimed to enforce that state’s ban on most abortions by empowering private citizens to enforce the ban by filing lawsuits in civil court.
Benitez said the fee provision would have a “chilling effect” on the public’s right to challenge the government in court because people would not want to take the risk of being liable for expensive legal fees.
[...]
