My, but that judge was kind to that agency....

For some reason, I find this fascinating.  The ATF takes action against some guy who made a business of turning metal into firearms, which is a pretty easy process if one has the minimal common tooling  required.

The guy played the game which the ATF created with it's often confusing and convoluted home made regulations.  Eventually, in a weird slow motion series of events, the agency shuts him down and charges him with a crime.

Years later, it finally comes before a judge who considers the matter for a long.... long.... time, and then coughs up a preliminary ruling.  You know, a kind of 'Here's what I will rule, if you continue this case and force me to make a real ruling' thing

The ATF reads the preliminary ruling, which makes it clear that not only will they lose yet another case due to sloppy and unprofessional creative regulation skullduggery, but this time they may lose FIFTY YEARS worth of such shenanigans as precedent.

In other words, the judge made it clear the ATF's glass walled fun house was about to be hit with a hail storm of reality. 

The agency lost no time at all in dropping the case and running to hide in a closet, rather than face the destruction of their flawed regulatory scheme.