OHIO APPEALS COURT SAYS CINCINNAT MUST PAY LEGAL FEES IN GUN LAW CASE

BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is applauding the ruling by a three-judge panel of Ohio’s 1st District Court of Appeals requiring the City of Cincinnati to pay legal fees to Frank West, who successfully challenged the city’s gun storage law, which violated Ohio’s preemption statute.

“When a city adopts an ordinance which directly conflicts with state law,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “it stands to reason that the city should be required to cover the legal expenses incurred by citizens who successfully challenge that ordinance.”

West had been prosecuted for having an unsecured firearm in his Cincinnati residence, under the city’s 2023 so-called “safe storage” ordinance. But state law prohibits local municipalities from adopting their own gun regulations. The trial court judge voided the ordinance and ordered the city to pay West’s legal fees and expenses. The city then appealed, challenging the award.

“This case puts a spotlight on how local government will adopt an ordinance in defiance of state law, and then fight tooth and nail to be held financially accountable when they’re caught at it,” Gottlieb observed. “The fact that the city dropped charges against West as soon as he sued showed how frail the charge, and the ordinance, itself, were under Ohio’s preemption law.”

The trial court awarded West roughly $300,000 for attorney’s fees and expert witness fees, with the final amount to be adjusted after review.

“State preemption statutes have been adopted for good reason,” Gottlieb said. “Such laws prohibit local governments from setting up their own regulations, often in conflict with neighboring municipalities and certainly exceeding state standards. Local governments must learn they simply can’t do that.

“Forcing anti-gun jurisdictions to pay up when they violate state laws or constitutional rights not only serves as a reminder that anti-gun jurisdictions can’t do that,” he added, “but it also sends a message to other state and local governments across the country that they should refrain from engaging in anti-gun activist politics, and stick to the business of municipal governance.”