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Stop Letting Judges Punish Defendants for Acquittals
New AFP Foundation brief seeks to close legal loophole banning religious schools from tuition assistance
Should a child’s opportunity for education turn on the religious perspective of the child? Should it turn on the religious perspective of the school? What if the school is just a little bit religious? Or too religious? Would that matter? It would if the child lives in an area of Maine with no public school.…
Read MoreAxon Enterprise v. FTC gives Supreme Court a chance to protect separation of powers
Cheerleading, social media, and free speech: What the Supreme Court’s decision in Mahanoy School District v. B.L. means for students’ First Amendment rights
One of the biggest student free speech cases in the last half century started with a high school cheerleader and a profanity-laced Snapchat. The implications of that terse, ephemeral message extend well beyond the original hundred-plus friends with whom the freshman student shared her post. In a decision today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1…
Read MorePresident Biden reduces transparency of agency rules
On his first day in office, President Joseph Biden issued an executive order revoking several of his predecessor’s executive orders designed to bring greater transparency and fairness to federal regulations. In the order, Biden directed all executive branch agencies to rescind “any orders, rules, regulations, guidelines, or policies” deriving from those executive orders he revoked.…
Read MoreSupreme Court unanimously rules FTC must comply with the law
Today, the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in an opinion delivered by Justice Breyer that the Federal Trade Commission must comply with the law and end its ultra vires pursuit of money damages. The opinion presents a straightforward statutory interpretation of the scope of FTC enforcement power under Section 13(b) of the FTC Act, which allows…
Read MoreIn Uzuegbunam, the Supreme Court validates nominal damages as a means of protecting constitutional rights
Thanks to the Supreme Court’s March 8, 2021, ruling in Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, No. 19-968, that a claim for nominal damages is enough to maintain standing, plaintiffs’ ability to seek vindication in court for infringement of speech rights is secure, even where the plaintiff cannot prove monetary harm. As Casey Mattox and I recently wrote…
Read MoreAmericans for Prosperity Foundation and yes. every kid. file brief in Supreme Court educational freedom case
Every kid needs and deserves a quality education — one that provides them with essential skills and helps them find and develop their talents and interests. Our nation’s education system should be flexible and responsive enough to support students as they identify the subjects and practices that engage them and drive their passion. That’s the…
Read MoreNarrow question in Supreme Court campus speech case has broad First Amendment implications
The Supreme Court hears oral argument today in Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, addressing whether “a government’s post-filing change of an unconstitutional policy moots nominal-damages claims that vindicate the government’s past, completed violation of a plaintiff’s constitutional right.” Translation? The justices are deciding whether people whose rights have been violated should have their day in court even…
Read MoreSCOTUS has chance to clarify the muddy waters of takings jurisprudence in Cedar Point v. Hassid
From before the founding, the “fundamental maxims of a free government [have] seem[ed] to require, that the rights of personal liberty and private property should be held sacred.” The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment exists to protect those sacred rights from unfettered state appropriation by requiring: first, that any taking of private property be…
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