Individuals and Organizations May Participate

Amicus briefs are commonly filed by:

• Former judges
• Law enforcement professionals
• Constitutional scholars
• Attorneys
• Public policy organizations
• Civil rights groups
• Professional associations
• Elected officials
• Concerned citizens with relevant expertise

An amicus brief does not require a person to be a party in the lawsuit. Instead, the filer must demonstrate that their relevant expertise may assist the Court in understanding the issues before it

Stand With Dave Goodman Click HERE to Support the Amicus Brief Initiative

This is a hotly contested matter. In terms of Second Amendment issues, this will be the proverbial “Show Down at the OK Corral.” As such, many special interest organizations and possibly some other individuals will file an Amicus Brief with the Supreme Court. This will include organizations on both sides of the issue. The NRA and other 2A Advocacy organizations will undoubtedly file an Amicus Brief in support of the petitioners, because doing so is exactly what those organizations exist to do. And, there will be just as many, and perhaps more who will file a Brief in opposition to the petitioners. While the value of special interest groups, with their unlimited financial and legal resources in this litigation is obvious, it is also predictable.

Stand With Dave Goodman Click HERE to Support the Amicus Brief Initiative

The process of successfully filing an Amicus Brief in the United States Supreme Court is complex and expensive. As a citizen, to become an Amicus Curiae of the United States you need to be a concerned citizen with relevant expertise, experience, or a significant interest in the issues being decided. You must then either (1) seek and obtain the permission of the parties of the litigation (the people who are actually suing and being sued), or (2) if that permission is sought but denied by any of the parties of the litigation, you must then file a motion with the Supreme Court of the United States seeking “leave of the Court” (permission) to file your brief.

Then a completed draft of the brief must be submitted when seeking permission of the parties and/or leave of the Court.

Once permission from either all of the parties or the Court has been granted, then the brief has to be published in book form. Forty copies of the book, along with several copies printed on standard paper, and digital copies must be filed with the Clerk of the Court.

The publication requirements for the required books are very specific as to format, binding, font style, font size, margins, paper weight and paper color.

Individuals can not file for leave of the Court or file an Amicus Brief Pro Se (representing themselves). They must be represented by an attorney who has been admitted to the Bar of the United States Supreme Court. In order for an attorney to be considered for admission to the Supreme Court, they must have years of experience in Federal Court or a Superior Court of a state, maintain a clean disciplinary record, show good moral character, provide multiple sponsors who are already members of the Supreme Court Bar, and pay a licensing fee (Supreme Court Rule 5).

There is an 8,000 word maximum limit, including citations. The Brief must be meticulously crafted, as it will become a permeant part of the Supreme Court Archives, joining every Amicus Brief that has ever been filed with the Supreme Court.

Stand With Dave Goodman Click HERE to Support the Amicus Brief Initiative

The U.S. Supreme Court charges no official court filing fee for an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief. However, the total cost to prepare, draft, print, and file one typically ranges from $10,000 to $50,000+, driven almost entirely by attorney labor, specialized research, and compliance formatting.

Cost Breakdown
Attorney & Legal Fees: $10,000 to $40,000+ (Standard private legal drafting ranges widely; smaller or boutique firms may charge flat fees around $10,000–$15,000, while large firms billing hourly can easily push totals past $50,000–$100,000 for complex matters). The average attorney practicing before the Supreme Court charges a minimum of $1,000.00 per hour.

Printing, Binding, and Compliance: $2,500 to $5,500 + (While electronic filing handles general submission, specifically required physical booklet-format constraints and specialized Supreme Court printing/binding services can add thousands of dollars as hard copies are required or scaled up)

Dave is taking on this project as an individual citizen, and is not sponsored, funded or financed by any organization, company, government entity or agency. It’s just Dave, and while he is open to receiving extremely limited outside financial assistance (limited to ten individuals or less), he is fully committed to this project with, or without any outside financial support. Click HERE For information about providing financial support.

On the topic of financial support, Supreme Court Rule 37.6 requires an amicus curiae brief to disclose whether counsel for a party authored the brief in whole or in part, and whether a party or anyone other than the amicus curiae, its members, or its counsel made a monetary contribution intended to fund the preparation or submission of the brief.

Rule Details

Location: The disclosure must appear in the first footnote on the first page of the text of the brief.

Scope: It mandates naming any person or entity outside the amicus organization, its members, or its counsel who gave money specifically to fund preparing or submitting that brief.

Exemptions: Government-entity amici (such as the United States or a state) are generally exempt from these specific disclosure requirements under Rule 37.4 and Rule 37.6.

Stand With Dave Goodman Click HERE to Support the Amicus Brief Initiative

There will be no shortage of organizations who will file Amicus Briefs—on both sides of the issue. Also, there will be various governmental agencies… Certainly each of the eleven states and the District of Columbia that have enacted legislation to restrict gun ownership rights, such as California. There will also be governmental agencies who advocate for constitutional rights, and all of the organizations who have organized around this specific issue, both for and against.

What will be unique is filings on behalf or ordinary citizens. The cost is prohibitive and most people will have the same or similar circumstances as a basis for their Brief. Dave’s specific circumstances gives him a unique opportunity to show the Court the effects of this regulation in terms of an honorably retired Peace Officer who spent a career enforcing firearms laws then being denied the right to “Keep” (as opposed to just the right to Bear) a firearm that was lawfully purchased from a Federally licensed gun dealer, registered according to existing State law, and then seized by a law enforcement agency.

As for why Dave doesn’t go to a special interest advocacy for support, the reason is simple: If Dave were to accept financial support from one of these advocacies, his Brief would be seen as a proxy of the organization sponsoring the Brief. As such, it would loose credibility and value to the Court.

Stand With Dave Goodman Click HERE to Support the Amicus Brief Initiative

Anyone who lives in a state without an Assault Weapon ban will be quick to complain about the Californians who have moved to their state and messed things up. The Assault Weapon ban started with one state, then spread to another. Now, there are eleven states and DC that have restrictive assault weapon bans.

Many states that were once strong 2A states are now battling radical liberal elements from within. If this case looses in the Supreme Court, the anti 2A movement will grow and the number of states that restrict gun rights will grow exponentially. In a very real sense, this fight is for your constitutional rights in Idaho, Arizona, Texas and every other free state in the USA.

Stand With Dave Goodman Click HERE to Support the Amicus Brief Initiative

The Brief has been drafted and is going through one of many re-writes. Once the Brief has been completed, and our Motion to File has been approved, I will be posting the Brief on this website. Those who sign up for our newsletter will receive a digital copy of the Brief once our Amicus Curiae status has been confirmed.

Stand With Dave Goodman Click HERE to Support the Amicus Brief Initiative

The obvious and short-sighted answer is that I want my gun back. The fact of the matter is that it would be much (much) less expensive and much easier for me to go out and buy another one… but this goes well beyond my selfish desires. Truth be known, I have a Mini 14 that I prefer over the AR platform. But this really isn’t about my AR. It is about OUR Constitutional Rights being preserved, and in the case of the eleven states and the District of Columbia who have banned AR15s, it is about restoring our rights.

As I stated before, the Constitution is not self-executing. We all inherited, as our birthright and our birth responsibility the ability and responsibility to preserve the liberties secured by our founders, and preserved with the blood of our forefathers. I am doing this for my posterity, my two sons and four grandchildren. And if I don’t do this, who will?

Stand With Dave Goodman Click HERE to Support the Amicus Brief Initiative

THIS CASE DOES CONCERN Dave Goodman. In fact, it concerns every man, woman and child in the United States of America and every American man, woman and child who has yet to be born! Every American has a role in preserving our constitutional government!

Dave Goodman is qualified to apply as an Amicus Curiae because he brings a unique perspective that will assist the Court in understanding relevant issues. This prospective comes as a result of Dave’s experience as:

• A retired California peace officer
• A longtime observer of constitutional issues
• An advocate for responsible firearm ownership
• A supporter of public safety and individual liberty
• A lifetime Community Servant
• A 27 year Criminal Defense Investigator
• An individual who is legally qualified and whose right to Keep and Bear a lawfully purchased and registered AR has been violated as a result of this ban. Dave’s AR, through no fault of his own sits in the Sheriff Evidence room waiting for destruction.

Dave has a direct and substantial interest in the constitutional question presented because state regulation of semiautomatic rifles classified as "assault weapons" has affected his ability to acquire and retain a firearm (ie: Keep and Bear Arms) that he contends falls within the protection of the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. The firearm underlying Dave’s interest was lawfully purchased by one of Dave’s direct family members from a federally licensed firearms dealer and lawfully registered under California law. During that family member’s lawful ownership, California amended the statutory definition of certain prohibited assault weapons, resulting in the firearm becoming subject to that classification.

The firearm was subsequently seized by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office. Following the seizure, Dave’s family member, the owner of the rifle sought to transfer the firearm to Dave through California's intrafamilial transfer process. The California Department of Justice denied the proposed transfer because the firearm had been classified as an assault weapon under California law. As a result, the firearm became subject to California's statutory disposition provisions including destruction, currently applicable to assault weapons.

Dave’s brief seeks to illustrate why the constitutional guarantee of the right to keep arms has practical significance and why the Court's analysis should give independent effect to each word chosen by the Framers in the Second Amendment. Dave is uniquely positioned to provide practical law-enforcement insight regarding constitutional rights and lawful firearm possession.

Stand With Dave Goodman Click HERE to Support the Amicus Brief Initiative

Join the Constitutional Advocacy Effort

Supporters can assist in several ways:

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Contributions may help offset legal research, drafting, filing, and outreach expenses associated with the amicus effort.

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Stand With Dave Goodman Click HERE to Support the Amicus Brief Initiative