IL: FOID Card Requirement found to be Unconstitutional for Third Time

An Illinois Circuit Court in White County has found portions of the Illinois Firearms Owner ID law to be unconstitutional under the Second Amendment, for the third time. From wmay.com February 10, 2025:

A White County Illinois judge has found the state’s Firearms Owner’s ID card unconstitutional when enforced against someone possessing their firearms in their home.

The case Illinois vs. Vivian Brown stems from a 2017 case where police found a rifle in her home and charged her with possessing a firearm without a FOID card.

This is the third time an Illinois White County Circuit Court has found the requirement to have an FOID card, merely to possess a firearm in their home, to be unconstitutional. The same judge, T. Scott Webb, has heard the case all three times.  From the 2025 decision at saf.org:

Conversely, since the inception of this case, both parties have agreed that the Defendant was and is eligible to receive a FOID Card and, as such, is a law abiding, responsible citizen. Only now does the State seek to re-define the Defendant as a criminal and strip her of her Second Amendment rights. Despite the State’s novel “law-abiding” argument, this Court has determined that the Defendant is a responsible, law-abiding citizen deserving of the protections guaranteed under the Second Amendment. Accordingly, the Defendant’s possession of a .22 caliber rifle withing the confines of her home, even without a valid FOID card falls squarely within the protections afforded her by the Second Amendment.

The Illinois Supreme Court has been unwilling to make a decision in the case.

In a 2018 decision, the FOID card was found to be unconstitutional in the case. From Illinois vs Brown:

10. In this case, the facts show the defendant possessed a gun, in her house, for the purpose of self-defense without a FOID card. To require the defendant to fill out a form, provide a picture ID and pay a $10 fee to obtain a FOID card before she can exercise her constitutional right to self-defense with a firearm is a violation of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution as applied to the states and a violation of Article I, Section 22, of the Constitution of the State of Illinois, as applied to this case only.

The Illinois Supreme Court sent the case back to the Circuit Court. The requirement for an FOID card to possess a firearm in the home was found to be unconstitutional a second time. From 2021 on AmmoLand, FOID card found unconstitutional:

Judge T. Scott Webb, of White County, Illinois, Found the requirement to obtain a (FOID) before owning a firearm in Illinois, to be unconstitutional. From the decision, Case 17-CM-60, 26 April 2021:

In 2022 the Illinois Supreme Court refused to rule on the issue again, and again sent the case back to the circuit court in White County.

In a split 4 to 3 decision, the Illinois Supreme Court has refused to rule on the constitutionality of the Firearms Owner’s IDentification card (FOID) requirements in Illinois. This is the second time the Court has refused to rule on the same case. 

The dissent in the June 16, 2022 decision stated:

JUSTICE MICHAEL J. BURKE, dissenting:

The last time this case was before the court, Justices Karmeier and Theis referred to this court’s remand as an “unexpected and pointless exercise” and a “meaningless and wasteful act.” People v. Brown, 2020 IL 124100, ¶¶ 39, 59 (Karmeier, J., dissenting, joined by Theis, J.) (Brown I). I cannot think of a better description for the remand that the court issues today.

Perhaps the third time, the Illinois Supreme Court will be willing to do their job and consider the merits of the case.

©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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