Huffington Magazine Issue 43 | Page 62

AP PHOTOS/DANA VERKOUTERAN, DIVIDE OR CONQUER cases before the Supreme Court as quickly as possible or his plan to file lawsuits across the country in the hopes that two federal appeals courts will issue conflicting rulings. Such a division in the lower circuit courts greatly increases the odds that the Supreme Court will decide to hear a particular case, in order to settle the issue. “We’ve gone out to plant the seed in all the various circuits,” Gottlieb said. “Maybe we’ll get a good Supreme Court decision, but we’re also going for as many good lower court rulings, 10 or 20, as we can get.” The SAF has won big on occasion — such as a 2011 case, Ezell HUFFINGTON 04.07.13 v. Chicago, in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit struck down the city’s ban on firing ranges and set an important precedent on how to interpret the Second