I imagine that, come September 3rd, if that’s all theyve got, we may see the stay lifted.
As much as it sucks currently, it will be absolutely breathtaking if this case ends up being the one that takes down mag limits nationally…
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I just don’t understand why the 3rd would grant the stay, the state’s position was completely without merit. Possibly leaving it for the “conservative leaning” SCOTUS to decide anything sounds sketchy. It all just seems curious to me. I hope all those dealers kept the receipts from their standard cap magazine purchases so they can return them. Pretty sure nobody’s going to want a rusted out mag when/if they’re given permission to sell them.
Because “Status Quo”
If the status quo was “race x can’t exercise their 1A rights” there would be no stay.
While I’m happy about our recent 2A gains, at 74 years old I’m running out of time to enjoy them.
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so we will be irreparably harmed as we will not be able to get the M14’s when the CMP starts selling them.
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that was a pretty good summary from Ammoland. One thing I am not sure I’m happy about is calling 30 rd mags “standard capacity” There is no standard for capacity. there are the usual typical ubiquitous 30 round mags in free states but that is not the result of a defined standard.
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ANJRPC Litigation Tracker Updates - nothing really new, but a good summary:
July 30-31, 2026: rather than petition for rehearing, NJ Attorney General Jennifer Davenport filed a motion asking the Third Circuit to STAY ITS MANDATE pending the State’s petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court. The motion argues the Court ‘has repeatedly stayed issuance of its mandates, even after ruling against a movant in a published opinion on the merits, pending resolution of any petitions for certiorari,’ and that the questions are ‘obviously worthy of certiorari’ given SCOTUS’s grant in Viramontes and the circuit split on large-capacity magazines; the State cites Barnett v. Raoul and asserts a ‘reasonable possibility’ of prevailing because every other circuit to reach these issues disagrees with the Third Circuit. NJ claims irreparable harm from the ‘inability to enforce its sovereign laws’ and ‘practical chaos if thousands of weapons are sold’ before SCOTUS rules, noting some NJ dealers have already resumed magazine sales ahead of the mandate. Plaintiffs may oppose without waiting for the court to request a reply, and a ruling on the stay motion is expected within days. If the stay is GRANTED, NJ’s cert petition would be due about October 15, 2026 (earliest SCOTUS conference October 22) — pushing any lawful NJ purchases of these rifles and magazines out more than two months. Bottom line: the AWB and 10-round magazine limit REMAIN ENFORCEABLE — the mandate has not issued, and the pending stay motion, not the July 31 or August 7 dates, now controls when (or whether) the ruling takes effect. Members should not rely on the July 17 opinion as present authority to purchase or possess banned firearms or magazines.
STAY GRANTED August 4, 2026: the full en banc Third Circuit (Freeman, J., authoring; Chagares, C.J., Hardiman, Shwartz, Krause, Restrepo, Bibas, Porter, Matey, Phipps, Montgomery-Reeves, Chung, Bove, Mascott and Smith, JJ.) granted New Jersey’s motion to stay the mandate. The order states: ‘Issuance of this Court’s mandate is stayed pending the Supreme Court’s disposition of movants’ anticipated petition for writ of certiorari or until the time for filing such a petition has expired. Should movants’ anticipated petition for writ of certiorari be granted, the stay of this Court’s mandate shall remain in place pending the Supreme Court’s final disposition on the merits.’ A companion clerk’s order the same day directs the parties to file a status report on or before September 3, 2026. PRACTICAL EFFECT: New Jersey’s assault-firearm ban and 10-round magazine limit REMAIN FULLY ENFORCEABLE for months to come. The earliest the bans could fall is late October 2026 — New Jersey’s certiorari petition is due October 15, 2026, and the State may seek a 60-day extension from Justice Alito (Circuit Justice for the Third Circuit), which is commonly granted and would push the petition to roughly mid-December. If the Supreme Court grants certiorari, the stay persists until SCOTUS decides the merits. Commentators consider it likely SCOTUS will either grant or hold the petition pending its decision in Viramontes v. Cook County / Grant v. Higgins (the Illinois and Connecticut assault-weapons cases set for argument in fall 2026; petitioner’s merits brief due August 28, respondent’s due October 21), rather than deny it outright — consolidation with Viramontes/Grant appears unlikely on timing. As of August 4, 2026, NJ residents may NOT lawfully purchase or possess firearms or magazines banned by state law; members should continue to comply with existing statutes until the mandate actually issues.
Good summary. Holding seems the most likely move by SCOTUS, given the circumstances. They decide cook Viramontes favorably using similar if not identical reasoning as the NJ case, then kick the NJ case back down to the 3rd circuit with instructions to modify the ruling as necessary as per Viramontes. The 3rd circuit then issues it’s mandate which includes the magazine issue since SCOTUS didn’t touch magazines in Viramontes. We will finally be free some time in June 2027.
something we all have to factor in to this June of 27 date is the age of the SC justices and the chances of retaining the senate this november. we are only a heartbeat away from a major swing if things go bad.
I am sure that’s one of their thoughts.
ON what planet are you getting a 9-0 AWB ruling with the current court composition?
That was Mark Smith’s reasoning, not mine.
Mark Smith’s reasoning was that Roberts may convince the liberal justices to side with the majority in exchange for making the ruling extremely narrow, but I think thats extremely far-fetched. I do think there is a small chance Judge KBJ sides with the majority depending on how narrow the ruling is. She has multiple relatives (including her younger brother and two uncles) who either are or were police officers (I thought her father was too but I was mistaken). Depending on how pro gun her family is could sway her but I still wouldn’t say it’s likely.
https://www.anjrpc.org/page/AWMagBanRulingPaused
FAVORABLE RULING ON AW/MAG BAN PAUSED WHILE
NEW JERSEY APPEALS TO U.S. SUPREME COURTAugust 6, 2026. The same court that threw out New Jersey’s longstanding “assault weapons” ban and magazine ban has paused (or “stayed”) its own ruling to allow the state of New Jersey to bring an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Importantly, the stay pauses the issuance of the Third Circuit’s “mandate,” which would have been the directive to actually implement the ruling. For this reason, ANJRPC urges gun owners to wait until New Jersey’s petition to the Supreme Court plays out in full before taking any action based on the Third Circuit’s excellent ruling throwing out New Jersey’s “assault firearms” and magazine ban laws.
With the U.S. Supreme Court already poised to decide the assault weapons ban issue next year in other cases, and a pro-gun majority on the high court, one wonders what the state of New Jersey hopes to accomplish by bringing its appeal. Even if the Supreme Court joins New Jersey’s appeal with the other cases already in cue[sic], the ultimate ruling is not likely to go New Jersey’s way. This may be New Jersey’s attempt to simply delay the inevitable in New Jersey for as long as possible, or it may be a last gasp Hail Mary pass before the game is lost.
Whatever the reason, there is no assurance that the Supreme Court will agree to actually hear the New Jersey case. The Court could refuse to hear the case, which would immediately end the stay. It could also “hold” New Jersey’s request until it decides the two AW ban cases it already has on its docket. The stay only remains in place if the Court grants or holds New Jersey’s request. And in any event, the issue should be resolved for the entire nation by the middle of next year.
Please stay tuned. ANJRPC will continue to monitor the situation and update gun owners as this process unfolds.
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The only reason to go that way is if you have another defector besides Roberts willing to uphold the ban if they don’t get a narrow ruling. There’s a lot of reasons to smack down lower courts. They have a high quality template on reasoning from the 3rd. There might be room for bringing more on board for a decision that crosses the aisle, but I suspect that would come down to trying to protect the NFA at this point.
The NFA as implemented is simply not compatible with viewing the second as an actual right.
I’m hearing rumors that the NJSP is tracking down the people who bought magazines after the ruling. Can anyone confirm it? I’d also like to name and shame the Troopers involved.
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