ROCHESTER – In what could be the second landmark case in two weeks for attorney Jim Ostrowski, a challenge to the New York SAFE Act and one of its earliest convictions was heard in State Supreme Court at 10 a.m., today.
Oral arguments in the case of The People of the State of New York v. Benjamin Wassell, which seeks to reverse the first conviction handed down by a state court in 2013 under the unconstitutional SAFE Act, is based on the following arguments: Ostrowski said the SAFE Act and Wassell’s conviction are unconstitutional, should be voided because of vagueness, violates due process, there was a jury instruction error, there is a lack of equal protection under the law and the case is not supported by legally sufficient evidence.
A spokesman for 2AWNY said the court challenge is evidence that a Second Amendment civil rights renaissance is growing across Western New York, and the state as a whole.
This is evidenced by the fact that, in the first two months of 2019 alone, all 17 Western New York district attorneys reached a unanimous decision that they WILL NOT prosecute the unconstitutional SAFE Act seven-round capacity limit provision. Additionally, within the same period, Wyoming County and the Grand Island Town Council both passed resolutions voicing strong opposition to current and future New York gun control measures.
In addition, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. City of New York, New York, setting the stage for an expansion of individuals’ Second Amendment civil rights outside the home.
Best news I have heard in some time! It was embarrassing that there were empty seats in the courtroom, when it should have been standing room only! The crowd should have spilled out into the street!