The Wire · CalGunHub
Supreme Court holds California magazine-ban petition over to next term
Published · Updated
The justices took no action on Duncan v. Bonta at the June 29 clean-up conference while granting the AR-15 cases.
Written by the CalGunHub desk from public reporting
Who this affects: The June 30, 2026 orders left California's 10-round magazine cap, Penal Code section 32310, fully in effect. The Supreme Court neither granted nor denied the Duncan v. Bonta petition, so the Ninth Circuit's en banc decision upholding the law remains the controlling appellate ruling, and the restriction continues to apply within California. The Court is expected to act on the petition in its new term; the petition was distributed for the September 28, 2026 long conference, with no order as of October 12, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 30, 2026 released orders from its June 29 clean-up conference without acting on Duncan v. Bonta, No. 25-198, the challenge to California's 10-round magazine cap, holding the petition over while granting certiorari in two AR-15 ban cases.
The Duncan petition, filed August 15, 2025, seeks review of the Ninth Circuit's 2025 en banc decision upholding Penal Code section 32310. It was first distributed for conference on November 21, 2025 and was repeatedly relisted, with no action at conferences including June 4, June 18, and June 25, 2026, according to the SCOTUS 2A Case Tracker, which called the streak "One of the longest relist streaks in recent memory." The Court likewise took no action on Gator's Custom Guns v. Washington, No. 25-153, or NAGR v. Lamont, No. 25-421, holding the magazine cases over while granting the AR-15 petitions.
California's magazine restriction remains in effect while the petition is pending.
Update: On July 17, 2026, the Third Circuit, sitting en banc, struck down New Jersey's magazine and rifle ban in Cheeseman v. Davenport, sharpening the split with the Ninth Circuit's Duncan ruling; the mandate was stayed August 4, 2026 while New Jersey prepares a cert petition. Duncan petitioners filed a supplemental brief citing Cheeseman on August 7, 2026, and California filed its responsive supplemental brief on August 11, 2026. The petition was distributed for the Court's September 28, 2026 long conference, and as of October 12, 2026, no order granting or denying cert had issued.
The hold-over means the justices may consider the magazine petitions alongside the AR-15 merits cases later in the term.
Sources
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