Opinion ID: 714803
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Brady's Implementation in Orange County

Text: 9 The Bureau, which by delegation of the Secretary of the Treasury is responsible for the implementation of the Gun Control Act and the 1993 amendments, see 18 U.S.C. § 926 (1994), interprets the term CLEO as broad enough to encompass more than one law enforcement officer within any given geographical area. On January 21, 1994, before the effective date of the Brady Act, it sent an Open Letter to State and Local Law Enforcement Officials (Open Letter) explaining the requirements of the Act and suggesting that state and local officials in each locality work together to decide which agency would perform the CLEO functions. The Bureau now maintains a list of the responsible CLEOs in the jurisdictions within States covered by the five-day interim requirement of the Act and publishes changes in CLEO status in the Federal Register. See, e.g., 59 Fed.Reg. 37,532 (1994). 10 On January 1, 1994 Sheriff Frank, Commissioner A. James Walton, Jr. of the Vermont Department of Public Safety, and numerous other interested law enforcement officials attended a meeting at Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont organized by the Bureau and the Vermont Department of Public Safety to discuss the Act's implementation. At the meeting, Commissioner Walton told local officials that the State would be willing to appoint an officer of the State Police to discharge the CLEO duties in any jurisdictions in which local officials declined to do so. Sheriff Frank then indicated that he would perform that function in Orange County. 11 The Bureau subsequently placed the sheriff on its list as the CLEO for Orange County and notified licensed firearms dealers in Vermont of its action. Initially, the sheriff's office performed the background check duties. After Sheriff Frank instituted the present suit, the state safety commissioner asked the Bureau to change the CLEO designation; the Bureau notified the sheriff on June 29, 1994 that it would now treat Lieutenant George C. Contois of the Vermont State Police as the CLEO for Orange County because the sheriff's position in the litigation indicated his unwillingness to perform that function.