Amicus Briefs

Americans for Prosperity and Americans for Prosperity Foundation frequently write amicus curiae briefs to support other litigants and present important issues to courts. Please contact us at amicus@afphq.org if you would like amicus support for your case.

Year

Issue Area

Court

2025
Jakeโ€™s Fireworks v. CPSC
Question Presented

Whether judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act for CPSC notices of violation is unavailable until the agency further acts through formal enforcement.

2025
Lesh v. United States
Question Presented

Whether the Constitutionโ€™s dual guarantee of trial by jury contains an unstated exception for โ€œpetty offenses.โ€

2024
Salaam v. Trump
Question Presented

2024
McNutt v. U.S. Department of Justice
Question Presented

Whether a federal ban on at-home distilling of spiritsโ€”even for personal useโ€”exceeds constitutional limits on the federal governmentโ€™s powers.

2024
Texas Top Cop Shop v. Garland
Question Presented

Whether the Corporate Transparency Act exceeds constitutional limits on the federal governmentโ€™s powers.

2024
L.M. v. MiddleBorough
Question Presented

What legal standard is applicable to a studentโ€™s untargeted ideological speech that promotes a viewpoint different from the schoolโ€™s preferred viewpoint.

2024
TOMA, et al. v. FONTES et al.
Question Presented

Whether Arizona’s Prop 211, which requires multi-layer donor disclosure for issue advocacy, violates the First Amendment.

2024
Cooper v. U.S.
Question Presented

Whether the Court should overrule the frisk holding of Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968), which allows police officers to search people absent probable cause to arrest.

2024
Leachco Inc. v. CPSC
Question Presented

1. Does the for-cause restriction on the Presidentโ€™s authority to remove the CPSCโ€™s Commissioners violate the separation of powers? 2. Should Humphreyโ€™s Executor v. United States be overruled? 3. For purposes of preliminary-injunctive relief, can a separation-of-powers violation cause irreparable harm or can separation-of-powers violations never cause irreparable harm?

2024
Seven County Infrastructure Coalition, et al. v. Eagle County, Colorado, et al.
Question Presented

Whether the National Environmental Policy Act requires an agency to study environmental impacts beyond the proximate effects of the action over which the agency has regulatory authority.

2024
Lackey v. Stinnie
Question Presented

Whether a plaintiff may be awarded attorney fees as a prevailing party under Section 1988 when a government defendant changes its policy and moots the case before adjudication on the merits.

2024
BB v. Capistrano Unified School District
Question Presented

Whether elementary school students possess First Amendment speech rights in public schools, and if so, to what extent.

Amicus Commentary

All
  • All
New York Appellate Court Strikes Down A State Practice Allowing Intrusive Surveillance Of Innocent Families

In a significant win for the liberty interests of parents in the care and custody of their children, yesterday a New York appellate court vacated and held unlawful a longstanding state practice that subjected parents who were never accused of any wrongdoing to ongoing supervision by local child services officers.  That supervision allowed state authorities…

Read More about New York Appellate Court Strikes Down A State Practice Allowing Intrusive Surveillance Of Innocent Families
D.C. Circuit Rules โ€œClawbackโ€ Orders Foreclosed by the FOIAย 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit released a noteworthy decision today in Human Rights Defense Center v. U.S. Park Police, a Freedom of Information Act (โ€œFOIAโ€) case in which the federal government sought a court order requiring the return or destruction of โ€œinadvertently disclosedโ€ records.  Such relief is commonly known…

Read More about D.C. Circuit Rules โ€œClawbackโ€ Orders Foreclosed by the FOIAย 
NetChoice and the โ€œInformational Interestโ€: Can the Government Ensure You Listen to the Right Message?

The Supreme Courtโ€™s decision in NetChoice v. Moody, the much-anticipated challenge to Texasโ€™s regulation of social media companies, was not the barnburner many had anticipated. Instead of deciding the First Amendment question directly, the Court found that neither lower court did the proper facial analysis, meaning they must not only find a First Amendment violation…

Read More about NetChoice and the โ€œInformational Interestโ€: Can the Government Ensure You Listen to the Right Message?
Americans for Prosperity Foundation releases summary of engagement for Supreme Court October 2023 term

Arlington, VAโ€ฏโ€“ Americans for Prosperity Foundation today released a report of its amicus engagement during the October 2023 Supreme Court term.โ€ฏ AFPF Chief Policy Counsel James Valvo said: This term the Supreme Court upheld protections for free expression, ruling the government cannot coerce companies to stop doing business with organizations based on their speech. The…

Read More about Americans for Prosperity Foundation releases summary of engagement for Supreme Court October 2023 term
Have you heard of these cases before the Supreme Court? Hereโ€™s why they should matter to you

UPDATE: On 5/30/2024, in a win for the First Amendment, the Supreme Court unanimously decided in NRA v. Vullo that government officials cannot pressure or otherwise coerce organizations to terminate certain business relationships when doing so infringes the First Amendment rights of the third party. This Supreme Court term has been full of high-profile cases.…

Read More about Have you heard of these cases before the Supreme Court? Hereโ€™s why they should matter to you
Congress, not bureaucrats, should make federal criminal law

By Michael Pepson Would it surprise you to know that Congress has granted the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) unfettered power to write its own criminal code governing one-tenth of the land in the United States? A Nevada federal court ruled that Congress unconstitutionally transferred its legislative power to write crimes to the BLM. Last…

Read More about Congress, not bureaucrats, should make federal criminal law
Freelancing or free speech? Californiaโ€™s AB5 gets speaking professionals coming and going

Threats to free speech can be veiled as restrictions on economic activity. Californiaโ€™s AB5 is the latest example. Many people who donโ€™t prefer traditional office environments have benefited from independent contracting. From freelance photographers to truckers to massage therapists, workers can find freedom in setting their own hours and being their own boss. California took…

Read More about Freelancing or free speech? Californiaโ€™s AB5 gets speaking professionals coming and going
Censorship by stealth: Can government officials censor speech by pressuring third parties to do it for them?

For this newsletter, Iโ€™m delighted to have Cindy Crawford, AFPF Senior Policy Counsel, take over to discuss censorship by stealth and two upcoming cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. โ€“ Casey UPDATE: On 5/30/2024, in a win for the First Amendment, the Supreme Court unanimously decided in NRA v. Vullo that government officials…

Read More about Censorship by stealth: Can government officials censor speech by pressuring third parties to do it for them?