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
The Buckeye Institute v. Internal Revenue Service
Question Presented

1. Whether exacting scrutiny governs a First Amendment challenge to 26 U.S.C. § 6033(b)(5)’s requirement that nonprofit organizations disclose their “substantial contributors.

2025
Canna Provisions Inc. et al. v. Bondi
Question Presented

(1) Should the Court overrule Raich’s holding that Congress can regulate purely local economic activity if there is any “rational basis” that such activity substantially affects interstate commerce? (2) Has Congress validly prohibited the purely local growing, distribution, and possession of state-regulated marijuana under the Commerce Clause and Necessary and Proper Clause?

2025
National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo
Question Presented

When it is obvious that a government official’s conduct violates the Constitution under longstanding Supreme Court precedent, is the violation clearly established for purposes of qualified immunity despite some factual distinctions that are irrelevant under the governing constitutional rule?

2025
Gun Owners of America, Inc. v. ATF
Question Presented

Does a federal court enjoy equitable authority under the Freedom of Information Act to order the return or destruction of records released by an agency, even when such disclosure is allegedly inadvertent, and can it also prohibit further use or dissemination of such records by their recipient.

2025
In re Liam M.
Question Presented

Does a family court order, which authorizes Child Services to enter and search an innocent mother’s home and supervise her parenting, violate the mother’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches?

2025
Leck v. Wyoming Education Association
Question Presented

Does the Wyoming ESA Program violate the Wyoming Constitution?

*The Wyoming Supreme Court denied leave to file this brief.

2025
Trump et al. v. Slaughter et al.
Question Presented

Whether the statutory removal protections for members of the Federal Trade Commission violate the separation of powers and, if so, whether Humphrey’s Executor v. United States should be overruled.

2025
First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Platkin
Question Presented

Whether, when the subject of a state investigatory demand has established a reasonably objective chill of its First Amendment rights, a federal court in a first-filed action is deprived of jurisdiction because those rights must be adjudicated in state court.

2025
Villarreal v. Alaniz
Question Presented

(1) Whether it obviously violates the First Amendment to arrest someone for asking government officials questions and publishing the information they volunteer; and (2) whether qualified immunity is unavailable to public officials who use a state statute in a way that obviously violates the First Amendment, or instead shields those officials.

2025
Case v. Montana
Question Presented

Whether law enforcement may enter a home without a search warrant based on less than probable cause that an emergency is occurring, or whether the emergency-aid exception requires probable cause.

2025
Lucid Group USA v. State of Georgia
Question Presented

Whether a Georgia law that prohibits EV manufacturers (with one exception) from selling cars directly to consumers violates the Georgia Constitution’s Due Process, Equal Protection, and Uniformity Clauses because the law is arbitrary and irrational and fails to advance any legitimate state interest in regulating.

2025
Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury
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.

Amicus Commentary

All
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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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.…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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