COSTA MESA, Calif., July 25, 2012 – A decision made by the Torrance Police Department and by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to deny the application made by a bail agent to obtain a concealed carry weapon (“CCW”) permit was recently upheld in U.S. District Court.
Partner Robert Bower and associate Ajit Singh Thind of Rutan & Tucker, LLP, one of California’s largest full-service business law firms that has been serving clients for over 100 years, represented the Torrance Police Department in the matter.
In his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge James Otero said that both agencies had a compelling interest in public safety and had reasonably reviewed the permit requests before denying them. Judge Otero disagreed with the plaintiff’s argument that the agencies’ policies violated his constitutional right to bear arms.
The "Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and Torrance Police Department's licensing policies are substantially related to the compelling government objective of protecting citizens from gun violence," Otero wrote in his ruling. He said the policies allow the agencies to better protect the public by adequately determining who is allowed to carry a concealed weapon in public.
Under the California Penal Code, when an individual wants to obtain a CCW permit, he or she must submit an application to the local police department’s chief of police or the sheriff of the county. Law enforcement is entitled to determine if the applicant has appropriate “good cause” to justify issuance of the permit. In this case, the plaintiff twice applied to the Torrance Police Department (“TPD”) for a CCW permit, alleging that he had a general fear for his safety due to his job, which justified a CCW permit. The Chief of Police denied both of his applications, finding that he lacked “good cause” under TPD’s good cause policy, because there was no clear, present, and documented danger to him and he did not show that there were no feasible alternative means of protection.
Bower is a member of the Government and Regulatory Law Section. His practice emphasis involves the entire range of legal matters in litigation and transactional settings encountered in the representation of public entities and the representation of private individuals and organizations dealing with government agencies. Thind’s practice includes both litigation and transactional matters, on behalf of public agencies and private entities. He currently serves as the Assistant City Attorney for the City of San Clemente and the Deputy City Attorney for the City of Laguna Beach.
About Rutan & Tucker LLP
Rutan & Tucker is California’s largest full-service law firm headquartered in Orange County, California with offices in Costa Mesa and Palo Alto. In addition to labor and employment law, other primary practice areas include business and real estate litigation, corporate and securities law, intellectual property, real estate, municipal and government agency law, land use law, bankruptcy, condemnation and property valuation, environmental law, and taxation and estate planning. Detailed information about the firm is available at www.rutan.com.