“Bazooka” Tom DeVore moved today to consolidate all four state-level gun ban challenges. They include his three cases plus the Macon County case brought by Dan Caulkins and the informal Macon County gun owners association. While DeVore might be moving to do this, don’t count on Dan Caulkins eagerly joining DeVore.
Bazooka gets his nickname from kicking butt and chewing bubblegum. And he’s fresh outta bubblegum. In fact, DeVore’s first few court appearances exposed Kwame Raoul’s team of lawyers as almost as feckless and ill-suited to courtroom work as Raoul himself.
There are things happening behind the scenes that I’m not privy to share, but we will have to see what happens. Caulkins may fight the consolidation. What’s more, while I am not a lawyer, I suspect the State of Illinois may have some input here. I see some benefits to Caulkins keeping his case independent from DeVore’s.
I don’t know if this is possibly a motion to gain another round of publicity for DeVore, or if he has everyone’s best interests at heart or if he has some master strategy. Or perhaps he’s worried that Caulkins’ action is going places before his own cases wprk their way through the courts.
For the record I’m told that Mr. DeVore was a no-show [Editor: Mr. DeVore contacted us and indicated that the case was not set for hearing that day so that’s why he didn’t appear.] at that hearing for those six disgruntled folks upset they weren’t named as individual plaintiffs after the four of them contributed exactly $60 to the legal fight. In fact, four of them didn’t chip in a nickel yet they demanded to be named plaintiffs.
The Center Square has the latest:
(The Center Square) – An effort is underway to combine four state-level challenges to Illinois’ gun and magazine ban.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker enacted the state’s ban on more than 170 semi-automatic firearms and magazines of more than 10 rounds for rifles and more than 15 rounds for handguns. Firearms deemed by the legislature as assault weapons in possession before the ban was enacted Jan. 10 must be registered with Illinois State Police by Jan. 1, 2024.
Lawsuits have been filed in both federal and state court since the measure was enacted.
On Tuesday, attorney Thomas DeVore filed with the Illinois Supreme Court a motion to consolidate his three cases from Effingham and White counties and the case from Macon county into one.
“When you bring them into one case, then you only have to do discovery one time,” DeVore told The Center Square. “Other depositions that we might do of the [Speaker of the House], of the [Senate President], might be identical. So there’s efficiency there.”
He said the cases he’s brought with thousands of plaintiffs and dozens of gun stores named is similar to the Macon County case with named plaintiffs and the association “Law-Abiding Gun Owners of Macon County.”
“Factual issues will be identical in this, regarding the record of the bill, etc,” DeVore said. “The legal issues will be identical.”
May be a moot point if we can get a statewide TRO that should be forthcoming very soon.
Do you really think that a state-wide TRO will be granted? What is your estimated timeframe? I heard there are court hearings on Febraury 28 and March 2. I may be incorrect. Thanks in advance.
One thing about not consolidating: it will keep Kwame da fool hopping around to different counties outside of his “home base”, fracturing his focus and resources, on the other hand it contributes to taxpayer expense. I say keep him hopping around to defend this crappy “law”, they brought it on by knowingly slamming through an unconstitutional piece of crap. After all is said and done, then class action lawsuit against the perpetrators of this “law” to recoup all expenses for the taxpayers. Just my humble opinion.
DeVore just had a livestream explaining why he is doing this. The problem that he is trying to circumvent Macon county case from going to ISC with no discovery. Watch DeVore’s livestream and it makes very good sense to consolidate cases
https://www.facebook.com/thomasdevoreil/videos/978194056500672/
Huh? Why would good ole Dan do what Pritzker & Raoul want, by rushing his case to supreme court??? It almost looks like Dan is trying to protect Pritzker, Raoul, Harmon, & Whelch from the discovery. The discovery would not only drive the case to gun-owner’s victory, but it would also publicly uncover the shady dealings of our State Government. You know, the same state government that Dan Caulkins pretends to work in???