I’ve never seen a case get reviewed en banc without a party appealing to the full court.
My suspicion is that even the leftists are afraid to take on a ruling like this because they are unsure of what would happen if reviewed by SCOTUS.
If I had to guess I would surmise that Kennedy is happy to let Helker and its progeny unfold like this, and he may have tipped his hand to some lower court judges to that affect.
That’s pure speculation on my part, but it would explain why Illinois didn’t appeal a very similar decision by the 7th Circuit.
I for one am happy to let the cases play out like this, as I’m not so confident in SCOTUS.
Also, I wish we knew which judge asked for review.
If I had to bet I would say that they will pass on hearing this case.
There has been a lot of reliance on this opinion, and taking it up could be risky business.
My belief is that if Peruta stands, the second amendment wins the culture war, and then the legislative war, and then the jurisprudence war.
If Peruta stands,California and Hawaii become shall issue. Probably a million more CCW permits. That many more permits means it is an irreversable step for California and Hawaii. No state has ever reversed a shall issue law.
Then all you have left is a tiny cluster of East Coast states centered around New York, with the Congress voting national reciprocity into law. That cluster will not be able to stand haveing everyone but their own citizens being able to bear arms outside the home, in their own states.