DOJ Just Expanded the San Jose Suit to Psych Tests and Gun Insurance
On September 29 the United States filed a First Amended Complaint in United States v. City of San Jose, No. 5:2026-cv-10508-PCP, Northern District of California. The original case was the $1,591 carry-permit fee. The amendment adds San Jose Police Department psychological testing (not in state law, not in the municipal code) and the city’s liability-insurance mandate plus the Annual Gun Harm Reduction Fee, S.J. Mun. Code §§ 10.32.210 and 10.32.215. Signed by Barry K. Arrington, Chief of the Second Amendment Section. Harmeet K. Dhillon is on the caption. This is an amended complaint. It is not a judgment. It is not last month’s fee-only press release.
- FAC filed Sept. 29, 2026: United States v. City of San Jose, N.D. Cal. No. 5:2026-cv-10508-PCP. Signed Barry K. Arrington. Dhillon on the caption.
- New claims: SJPD psychological testing (policy, not state law) and S.J. Mun. Code §§ 10.32.210–.215 (liability insurance + Gun Harm Reduction Fee).
- Fee remains $1,591 (Res. 2026-183). That piece was already live on WTF as the September fee suit. This is the amendment.
- DOJ: Wolford knocks out the 2023 holding that insurance “doesn’t implicate the text.” Authority: 34 U.S.C. § 12601. Complaint, not a judgment.
- Bearing Arms, Sept. 30 (Edwards): Civil Rights Division is expanding past the fee.
The First Amended Complaint is dated September 29, 2026, in the Northern District of California, Case No. 5:2026-cv-10508-PCP. Caption: United States of America v. City of San Jose, California. Rule 15(a)(1)(A). Counsel of record on the signature block: Barry K. Arrington, Chief, Second Amendment Section. Also on the caption: Harmeet K. Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division; R. Jonas Geissler, Deputy AAG; trial attorneys Patrick Todd and Tristan Silva II; U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian. Cam Edwards at Bearing Arms, September 30: the first complaint was the fee; this week’s amendment is the psych screen and the insurance ordinance.
The fee is still in the case. San Jose City Council Resolution No. 2026-183 set the CCW application fee at $1,591 — 20 percent ($318) up front, $1,273 at issuance. The FAC’s comparison: San Francisco $144; Berkeley $255 plus $325; Santa Clara County $488 and $488; Alameda County $347 and $346; D.C. $75; New York City $340 for three years; Boston $100; Chicago $150; Philadelphia $20. That is the same outlier we already wrote. What is new is Count-level theory on two more gates. SJPD’s Carrying a Concealed Weapon Policy requires psychological testing and puts the cost on the applicant. California Penal Code § 26190(e) does not require it. San Jose’s municipal code does not require it. The FAC: “that history is not analogous to preemptively screening everyone for a vague and unspecified psychological condition.” Separately, § 10.32.210 requires every person who owns or possesses a firearm to keep liability insurance covering accidental use. § 10.32.215 adds an Annual Gun Harm Reduction Fee to a designated nonprofit. A prior district decision, National Association for Gun Rights v. City of San Jose, had said the insurance piece did not even implicate the text. The FAC says Wolford v. Lopez, 609 U.S. 185 (2026), abrogated that dodge: if the law restricts keeping or bearing, it is presumptively unconstitutional and the city must find a historical analogue.
The vehicle is still 34 U.S.C. § 12601 — pattern-or-practice by law enforcement. The ask is a declaration and a permanent injunction. San Jose has not been ordered to drop the fee, the shrink, or the policy. Last month’s wire was the $1,600 door charge. This filing is the rest of the gauntlet.
"San Jose already priced carry at $1,591. Tuesday DOJ added the psych test and the insurance mandate. Same case. New complaint."← More Stories
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