Revell v. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Gregg Revell (plaintiff) booked a flight from Utah to Pennsylvania. At the airport in Utah, Revell declared that he was carrying an unloaded firearm and ammunition in separate cases, for which he obtained the proper tag. The itinerary included a connecting flight to New Jersey, which was late. Revell therefore could not fly to Pennsylvania until the following day. Revell retrieved his luggage, including the firearm and ammunition, and took a bus to a nearby hotel, where he spent the night. The next morning, Revell returned to the airport, where a Transportation Security Administration agent flagged Revell’s luggage. Revell was escorted to an interrogation area, where several officers of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (Port Authority) (defendant) questioned him. Scott Ericson (defendant), a Port Authority officer, arrested Revell for violation of New Jersey laws regulating the interstate transportation of firearms. Revell, who did not take advantage of procedural protections available in the state, was incarcerated for three days. Although the charges were later dropped, it took more than two years for the state to return Revell’s firearm and ammunition. Revell filed suit against Ericson and the Port Authority in federal district court. Revell cited § 926A of the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act (FOPA), which provided that a firearm owner could transport a firearm from one state through a second state to a third state if (1) the firearm owner was licensed to carry the firearm in the first and third states and (2) the firearm was not readily accessible or directly accessible from a transporting vehicle in the second state. Revell made the related argument that his § 926A right gave him a valid right under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Finally, Revell argued that the arrest violated his due-process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. The district court dismissed the § 926A claim and granted summary judgment against Revell on the constitutional claims. Revell appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.