xpertgreg
01-03-2008, 03:36 PM
Judge postpones trial for lawsuit over guns seized after Katrina
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW ORLEANS -- A federal judge has agreed to postpone a trial for a lawsuit that the National Rifle Association filed against city officials for seizing hundreds of guns in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath.
Last week, NRA attorneys said the lobbying group needs more time to search for hundreds of gun owners whose firearms were confiscated by New Orleans police following the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane.
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier agreed Friday to reschedule a Feb. 19 trial for the case. A new trial date is expected to be picked during a telephone conference with the judge later this month.
The NRA and Second Amendment Foundation, a Bellevue, Wash.-based advocacy group, sued New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Superintendent Warren Riley over the city's seizure of more than 1,000 guns that weren't part of any criminal investigation after Katrina.
The groups accuse the city of violating gun owners' constitutional right to bear arms. Riley has said most of the guns were found in abandoned homes or were taken from people trying to board evacuation buses or enter shelters after the storm.
In April 2006, police made about 700 firearms available for owners to claim if they could present a bill of sale or an affidavit with the weapon's serial number. Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, said last week that police only have returned about 100 of the seized guns.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW ORLEANS -- A federal judge has agreed to postpone a trial for a lawsuit that the National Rifle Association filed against city officials for seizing hundreds of guns in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath.
Last week, NRA attorneys said the lobbying group needs more time to search for hundreds of gun owners whose firearms were confiscated by New Orleans police following the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane.
U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier agreed Friday to reschedule a Feb. 19 trial for the case. A new trial date is expected to be picked during a telephone conference with the judge later this month.
The NRA and Second Amendment Foundation, a Bellevue, Wash.-based advocacy group, sued New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Superintendent Warren Riley over the city's seizure of more than 1,000 guns that weren't part of any criminal investigation after Katrina.
The groups accuse the city of violating gun owners' constitutional right to bear arms. Riley has said most of the guns were found in abandoned homes or were taken from people trying to board evacuation buses or enter shelters after the storm.
In April 2006, police made about 700 firearms available for owners to claim if they could present a bill of sale or an affidavit with the weapon's serial number. Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, said last week that police only have returned about 100 of the seized guns.