Commonwealth v. Philip Marquis

Back in March of 2024, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decided two non-resident licensing cases: Commonwealth v. Donnell and Commonwealth v. Marquis. While the Donnell case was decided on the previous version of the licensing law, Marquis was quite different. It offered a direct challenge to Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2024, and the Commonwealth’s “suitability” licensing standard – which is now codified into law.

On July 30th, 2025, the attorney for Mr. Marquis filed a writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the Commonwealth’s “suitability” standard at the highest federal level. While it is unclear whether or not the Court will grant cert, you can find the filings on this page. We will have more updates for you as they come.