Appeals Court hears dispute over whether Superior Court or district court should resolve Bruen historical inquiry

Single Justice John Englander of the Massachusetts Appeals Court heard oral argument in case 25J0050, Inray Dana Dupras Sr., on whether the Superior Court should decide the historical inquiry set out by the U.S. Supreme Court in Bruen or whether the issue must be developed first in the district court.

The question before the single justice arose after a Superior Court judge remanded the case to the district court for an evidentiary hearing on factual matters related to the licensing authority's decision to suspend Dupras's firearms license. The Commonwealth, represented by Tim Casey, assistant attorney general, asked the single justice to vacate the Superior Court's remand and direct the Superior Court to resolve the Bruen historical inquiry as a matter of law. Mr. Patton, counsel for Inray Dana Dupras Sr., argued the remand was appropriate and that factual…