Marquis v. Massachusetts denied cert by US Supreme Court

Marquis involved a New Hampshire resident who was pulled over and found to be in possession of a firearm without having a Massachusetts LTC. He was subsequently arrested and charged under the new licensing regime under chapter 135. Interestingly enough, the decision was released by the MA SJC the same day as a similar case, Donnell, where the charges stemmed from the prior version of the law – Mr. Donnell’s charges were found to be unconstitutional, while Mr. Marquis’s charges stuck.

Unfortunately, what should have been a landmark decision by the US Supreme Court defining what state-to-state reciprocity could be, fell short. This is likely due to a number of reasons: a lack of split decisions amongst the Circuit Courts relating to the topic or the Court awaiting clearer guidance regarding other cases like Wolford and Hermani, but most likely it was due to the Supreme Court’s history of denying cases that took “short cuts” to get before them. This case was taken directly from the highest state court in Massachusetts, not a federal court, and while this has traditionally been a legitimate mechanism to reach the Supreme Court, the current Court does not seem keen to take such cases – especially when the action could be considered especially controversial. While HR. 38, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025 is still moving through Congress the Court may have wanted to stay neutral in the debate.

This case shows in particular how long, arduous and expensive it is to get before the Supreme Court – especially if the Court does not seem to have the appetite for the particular topic. The best case in the world with the best facts, parties and a clear constitutional controversy could be denied based solely on the Justices’ discretion. The Supreme Court will not be there every time we need them.