Are they afraid of what would happen to all state laws if SCOTUS gets to hear the case instead of them? That would be similar to when DC decided not to fight it's CCW permit loss, because it could have been used to overturn laws all over the country. Lose local to save big, but Cali isn't a small local loss. This really could have some potential in the future, IF Heller and MacDonald get used right for a change.