Jason Davis has over 32 years of experience in the California firearms industry. Davis spent the early part of his career as a representative for several of the nations’ leading firearm manufacturers, gaining more than 13 years of practical business and manufacturing experience in the firearms industry before entering the field of law.
This experience served Jason quite well during his tenure as the manager of the firearms division at a California law firm and counseled sporting goods retailers, firearm manufacturers, dealers, collectors and trade associations in California’s firearms, air gun and other weapons-related regulatory compliance matters, including litigation. From setting up firearms dealers and manufacturers with appropriate licenses and permits to challenging the laws that regulate the industry, Mr. Davis is a leading figure in the California firearms industry.
Mr. Davis, along with Donald Kilmer submitted an Amicus Brief to the United States Supreme Court on behalf of appellants from the Ninth Circuit Incorporation Case of Nordyke v. King– in support of reversal in McDonald v. Chicago, which determined that the Second Amendment protects individuals from state and local restrictions on the right to bear arms.
Also, in 2009, the California Law Revision Commission issued their Final Report to the California Legislature, which directed them to “study, report on, and prepare recommended legislation by July 1, 2009, concerning the revision of the portions of the Penal Code relating to the control of deadly weapons ….” In that Final Report, the Commission recognized Mr. Davis for his role, stating that “the Commission is especially grateful to Jason Davis . . . , who faithfully attended the Commission’s meetings to represent the views of gun owners. . . .”
Mr. Davis, along with David Kopel, C. D. Michel, and Erin Eckelman-Ray submitted an Amicus Brief to the United States Supreme Court on behalf of a majority of California District Attorneys and other law enforcement associations in Heller v. District of Columbia, the historical case determining that the Second Amendment provides an individual right to bear arms.
After nearly eight years with his previous employer, Mr. Davis founded Davis & Associates, where he practices primarily in the area of firearm law compliance and litigation.
Education:
Mr. Davis graduated from Loyola Law School in 2002. While at Loyola, he focused on tax and corporate law. He was the Treasurer of the Corporate and Business Law Association and a member of the International Legal Fraternity of Phi Delta Phi.
Davis graduated cum laude from the University of California, Riverside in 1999 with dual degrees in economics and history. His undergraduate writings attributing economics as a key factor in the rise of firearms litigation was accepted for publication by the University of California, Riverside’s Cornerstone Journal. While studying economics, he became a member of the international economics honors society, Omicron Delta Epsilon and received numerous honors and the Chancellor’s award.
Select Publications & Lectures:
Ronald Reagan’s Wisdom and the Second Amendment, Simi Valley Members Council for the Friends of the
National Rifle Association, Ronald Reagan Library, Simi Valley, September 2009.
Don’t Give Up on California, SHOT Show, Las Vegas, Nevada, January 2009.
The Second Amendment – Post Heller, National Rifle Association Members Council Conference, July 2008.
The Path to Incorporation for the Second Amendment, Orange Members’ Council Fundraiser for Friends of the
National Rifle Association, September 2008.
Owners of “Registered” “Assault Weapons” Find Relief From California’s .50 BMG Rifle Restrictions, Fifty Caliber
Institute Newsletter, Issue 4, Vol.2 (July 2007) .
AB50: Possession Prior to Registration Deadline, Very High Power Magazine (May 2005).
Collateral Damage: How AB50 Affects National Advertising of .50 Caliber BMG Rifles, fiftycal.org (January 2005).
Memberships:
California Bar Association, Admitted 2002.
Ninth Circuit: Central, Southern, and Northern District Courts of California, Admitted.
Los Angeles County Bar Association, Member.
Orange County Bar Association, Member.
National Rifle Association, EPL Lifetime Member.
Fifty Caliber Institute, Member/Director.
Honors:
Southern California Rising Star, Super Lawyers Magazine 2010;
Southern California Rising Star, Super Lawyers Magazine 2009;
Southern California Rising Star, Super Lawyers Magazine 2008;
Southern California Rising Star, Super Lawyers Magazine 2007.
Significant Cases & Actions:
McDonald v. Chicago (U.S. 2010) ___S.Ct.____. (Yet to be decided). Co-Author of Amicus Brief for the Amicus Brief to the United States Supreme Court on behalf of appellants from the Ninth Circuit incorporation case of Nordyke v. King, Madison Society, and Golden Gate Second Amendment Council – in support of reversal. McDonald is set to determine whether the Second 0Amendment protects individuals from state and local restrictions on the right to bear arms.
California Law Revision Commission Study on Dangerous Weapons Laws. Represented the interests of firearm owners and associations. As part of ACR 73, the Legislature directed the Law Revision Commission to “study, report on, and prepare recommended legislation by July 1, 2009, concerning the revision of the portions of the Penal Code relating to the control of deadly weapons ….” 2006 Cal. Stat. res. ch. 128. The general purpose of the study was to improve the organization and accessibility of the deadly weapons statutes, without making any change to criminal liability under those statutes.
District of Columbia v. Heller (U.S. 2008) 128 S. Ct. 2783. Co-Author of Amicus Brief, along David Kopel, C.D. Michel and Erin Eckelman-Ray filed on behalf of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA), the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI), Maryland State Lodge, the Fraternal Order of Police, the Southern States Police Benevolent Association, 29 Elected California District Attorneys, the San Francisco Veteran Police Officers Association, the Long Beach Police Officers Association, Texas Police Chiefs Association, Texas Municipal Police Association, New York State Association of Auxiliary Police, Mendocino County, California Sheriff Thomas D. Allman, Oregon State Rep. Andy Olson, the National Police Defense Foundation, the Law Enforcement Alliance of America, and the Independence Institute in Support of Respondent. Heller determined that the Second Amendment provides both a fundamental and individual right to bear arms.
Guy Montag Doe v. City and County of San Francisco (2008). Successfully represented plaintiff in a challenge to the City and County of San Francisco’s and their housing authority policy against firearm possession in public housing.
Fiscal v. City and County of San Francisco (2008) 158 Cal. App. 4th 895. Represented plaintiffs in Fiscal, where the court struck down the City of San Francisco’s referendum prohibiting the possession of handguns and sale of firearms and ammunition, holding that it was pre-empted under California law.
People v. Chaker (2008) 2008 Cal. LEXIS 6832, Fourth Appellate District, Div. 3, No. G037362. Authored Amicus Brief filed on behalf of National Rifle Association.
Patel, et al. v. Govin, et al. (2007) Los Angeles County Superior Court No. LASC BC 288577. Represented plaintiffs who sought compensation for the deaths of four of their relatives that had been murdered by Defendants. The murders originated out of a dispute over an easement/right-of-way adjacent to Plaintiffs’ and Defendants’ separate properties. Plaintiffs were awarded $148,000,000.00.
In re Firearm Cases (2006) 126 Cal.App. 4th 959. Represented multiple defendants. The complaints in the three coordinated actions brought by dozens of California cities, counties, and representatives generally alleged that the defendants marketed, distributed, promoted and designed handguns in a manner that facilitated the use of the weapons to commit violent crime, failed to incorporate safety features, deceived the public about the dangers of firearms, circumvented federal, state and local laws and created a public nuisance. Trial court granted judgment on an omnibus motion for summary judgment brought by various gun manufacturers, distributors, and trade associations. The trial court ruled against the cities and found that no unfairness could be shown absent some connection between any practice of the gun manufacturers and the harm caused by illegal guns. The trial court further found that the gun manufacturers’ mere failure to implement changes in their business practices did not establish a violation of the UCL or a public nuisance. No authority existed for the argument that trade associations had a duty to adopt firearms safety standards. The Court of Appeal affirmed the grant of summary judgment to the gun manufacturers, distributors, and trade associations based on the cities’ failure to establish a causal connection between the alleged unfair practices and the harm.
California Sporting Goods Association, et al. v. City of Los Angeles (2005) challenged the City of Los Angeles’ ban on .50 BMG Rifles, which was deemed pre-empted by California’s .50 BMG Rifle laws.
Leonte, et al. v. ACS State & Local Solutions, Inc., et al. (2004) 123 Cal. App. 4th 521. Represented plaintiffs in a challenge to the City of West Hollywood’s outsourcing of operations of red-light camera systems.