Year
Issue Area
Court
2025
Lesh v. United States
Question Presented
Whether the Constitution’s dual guarantee of trial by jury contains an unstated exception for “petty offenses.”
2024
McNutt v. U.S. Department of Justice
Question Presented
Whether a federal ban on at-home distilling of spirits—even for personal use—exceeds constitutional limits on the federal government’s powers.
2024
Texas Top Cop Shop v. Garland
Question Presented
Whether the Corporate Transparency Act exceeds constitutional limits on the federal government’s powers.
2024
L.M. v. MiddleBorough
Question Presented
What legal standard is applicable to a student’s untargeted ideological speech that promotes a viewpoint different from the school’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 President’s authority to remove the CPSC’s Commissioners violate the separation of powers? 2. Should Humphrey’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.
2024
Toma, et al. v. Fontes, et al.
Question Presented
Whether the Arizona state legislature has standing to challenge the donor disclosure law known as Proposition 211.
Amicus Commentary
- All
NetChoice and the “Informational Interest”: Can the Government Ensure You Listen to the Right Message?
The Supreme Court’s decision in NetChoice v. Moody, the much-anticipated challenge to Texas’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…
Americans for Prosperity Foundation releases summary of engagement for Supreme Court October 2023 term
Arlington, VA – Americans for Prosperity Foundation today released a report of its amicus engagement during the October 2023 Supreme Court term. 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…
Have you heard of these cases before the Supreme Court? Here’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.…
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…
Freelancing or free speech? California’s AB5 gets speaking professionals coming and going
Threats to free speech can be veiled as restrictions on economic activity. California’s AB5 is the latest example. Many people who don’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…
Censorship by stealth: Can government officials censor speech by pressuring third parties to do it for them?
For this newsletter, I’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. – 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…
The Supreme Court can stop unelected bureaucrats and private corporations from imposing taxes
Americans for Prosperity Foundation recently filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Consumers’ Research v. Federal Communications Commission, urging the Court to grant Consumers Research’s cert petition and enforce the Constitution’s system of checks and balances. At issue is the constitutionality of the Universal Service Fund, a social welfare program that subsidizes certain consumers’ telecommunications services at…
D.C. Circuit Rules “Clawback” Orders Foreclosed by the FOIA
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 (“FOIA”) case in which the federal government sought a court order requiring the return or destruction of “inadvertently disclosed” records. Such relief is commonly known…