Johnson v. New York: Supreme Court Denies Certiorari

The U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition for a writ of certiorari in Johnson v. New York (No. 25-6940) on June 22, 2026. New York filed its brief in opposition on May 11, 2026, the Attorney General of New York filed a separate opposition as intervenor on May 15, 2026, and Omar Johnson filed his reply on June 3, 2026. The petition was distributed on June 3, 2026, for the Court's conference of June 18, 2026.^[1]

What the Case Involves

Johnson v. New York is a criminal defense case, not an offensive challenge to a current New York regulation. Omar Johnson was prosecuted for unlicensed firearm possession under New York's pre-Bruen licensing scheme, which required applicants to show "proper cause" before receiving a license to carry. The Supreme Court held in Bruen (2022) that the "proper cause" standard was unconstitutional. Johnson argued that his conviction cannot stand because the licensing scheme under which he was prosecuted contained an unconstitutional standard. The New York Court of Appeals rejected his defense on severability grounds, holding that New York's other licensing requirements remained valid even after Bruen invalidated the "proper cause" standard.

The question presented is: whether, or under what circumstances, individuals can be criminally prosecuted for failing to comply with a licensing scheme that contains a facially unconstitutional licensing standard. This is a question of constitutional severability doctrine, not a direct challenge to any current post-Bruen New York regulation.

SCOTUS Cert Petition Process

Filing a cert petition does not mean the Supreme Court will hear the case. The Court reports approximately 5,000 to 7,000 new cases each term and grants plenary review, with oral arguments, in about 80 of them. After New York files its response, the Court typically places the petition on a conference agenda. If four justices vote to grant review (the "Rule of Four"), the case is set for briefing and oral argument. If fewer than four justices vote to grant, the petition is denied without comment and the lower court's ruling stands.

Why This Case Matters

In the litigation over New York's post-Bruen regulatory framework, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in Antonyuk v. James on April 7, 2025. New York-specific cert petitions signal ongoing pressure from litigants who believe the Second Circuit's approach to the historical-tradition test is too permissive of state regulation. The Court denied certiorari in Johnson v. New York on June 22, 2026.

Current Status

The Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari on June 22, 2026. The denial ended this Supreme Court petition without a merits opinion. It did not affirm the reasoning below and did not itself change a provision of the CCIA.^[4]

What the Denial Means

The New York judgment remains undisturbed in this case. Future challenges must proceed through other cases or on different claims. A denial of certiorari is not a Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of the challenged law.