One of the ways CRAL continues to fight for our rights is by taking a proactive stance in the courts. CRAL is very active in both initiating lawsuits and filing supportive briefs in others. Here are some examples.

Archer vs McGarry

Rhode Island law provides that the licensing authority of a city or town (usually the chief of police) "shall issue" a permit to carry a concealed handgun to any applicant who has a need or other proper reason and is suitable to be licensed. A resident of Smithfield requested that his police chief accept and consider an application for a permit. The chief refused. With the assistance of CRAL, the resident successfully sued the police chief. It is now established that a police chief must accept and fairly consider applications to carry concealed handguns. The police chief may not insist that residents apply to the Attorney General.

Here is the Judge's decision (683K PDF) and his order (46K PDF).

Mosby vs McAteer

In 1999 a Massachusetts resident and a Rhode Island resident jointly brought a suit against Attorney General Whitehouse for denying their applications for carry permits. The case was dismissed by a Superior Court judge. The residents appealed, and the RI Supreme Court has accepted the appeal. The Supreme Court requested that all interested parties file briefs as amici curiae.

CRAL has filed two briefs in the case.

Our initial brief (137K PDF) was filed in February, 2003.

Our reply brief (416K PDF) was filed in June, 2003.

State vs Capwell

Actually, CRAL did not file any briefs in this case, but we include it here because it is of great interest to people who hold permits to carry concealed handguns in RI. Mr. Capwell is a RI resident who was employed by an armored car company and left this position. The former employer notified the Attorney general about the separation and the AG then informed Mr. Capwell that his permit to carry a concealed weapon was suspended.

Later, Mr. Capwell was forced to use a handgun in self defense (fortunately, no one was harmed). The AG charged Mr. Capwell with carrying a handgun without a permit, even though no other charges were brought.

Mr. Capwell moved for dismissal. The Judge ruled that the law says a permit, once granted, is valid for four years from the date or issue or until revoked. Because the permit was not revoked or expired, it was still valid and therefore Mr. Capwell was not carrying a handgun without a permit.

Transcript of hearing and ruling: capwell-dismiss-hearing.pdf (1.1MB)