Johnson v. New York: Supreme Court Denies Certiorari

A petition for a writ of certiorari is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court in Johnson v. New York (No. 25-6940), challenging a New York firearms regulation under the Second Amendment. 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 Court has distributed the petition for its 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 grants certiorari in roughly 1 to 2 percent of petitions it receives. 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

The Supreme Court has not yet taken up a Second Amendment case focused specifically on New York's post-Bruen regulatory framework since declining to hear Antonyuk v. James in April 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's decision whether to grant or deny certiorari in Johnson v. New York will be watched closely as an indicator of the justices' appetite for revisiting Second Amendment doctrine in the near term.

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.