Guardanapo v. Washoe Cty. Sch. Dist., D. Nev. Case No. 3:18-cv-00172-RCJ-WGC
Barnes v. Liberty High Sch., D. Or. Case No. 3:18-cv-00877
Brought successful First Amendment challenges to middle and high school’s enforcement of dress code policies that infringed students’ right to express their political views.
Click here to read the Guardanapo complaint.
Click here to read the Barnes complaint.
Firearms Pol’y Coalition Second Am. Defense Comm. v. Harris, No. 2:16-cv-01144-MCE-AC (E.D. Cal.)
Filed First Amendment challenge to California statute that prohibits the use of the public video feed from the California State Assembly “for any political or commercial purpose.”
Obtained preliminary injunction enjoining the Attorney General from enforcing statute.
Tracy Rifle and Pistol LLC v. Harris, No. 2:14-cv-02626-TLN-DAD (E.D. Cal.)
Filed First Amendment challenge to California statute that prevents firearms dealers from displaying handgun advertisements on their premises.
Obtained permanent injunction enjoining the California Department of Justice from enforcing statute.
Doe v. Becerra, 20 Cal.App.5th 330 (Cal. Ct. App. 2018)
Successfully invalidated California Department of Justice policy because the department failed to comply with the Administrative Procedures Act and adopted a policy inconsistent the governing statute.
Pini v. Fenley, 9 Cal.App.5th 67 (Cal. Ct. App. 2017)
Obtained reversal of trial court’s dismissal of election contest.
Supreme Court of the United States
Ulbricht v. United States, Docket No. 17-950
Filed amici curiae brief for the Reason Foundation, Cato Institute, Competitive Enterprise Institute, and R Street Institute in support of a petition for a writ of certiorari, regarding whether the Fourth Amendment should prohibit the warrantless seizure of a person’s Internet browsing activity.
Decision below: United States v. Ulbricht, 858 F.3d 71 (2d Cir. 2017).
Bennie v. Munn, Docket No. 16-452
Filed amici curiae brief for the Cato Institute, Reason Foundation, and National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc., in support of a petition for a writ of certiorari, explaining that the “ordinary firmness” test is inconsistent with the Court’s First Amendment retaliation cases.
Decision below: Bennie v. Munn, 822 F.3d 392 (8th Cir. 2016).
Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, Docket No. 14-915, cert. granted, 135 S. Ct. 2933 (June 30, 2015)
Filed amici curiae brief on behalf of several constitutional law professors in support of petitioners, urging the Court to overrule Abood v. Detroit Bd. of Ed., 431 U.S. 209 (1977), as inconsistent with prevailing First Amendment precedent.
Read our petition-stage brief in Friedrichs here
Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, Docket No. 14-981, cert. granted, 135 S. Ct. 2888 (June 29, 2015)
Filed amicus curiae brief for the Judicial Education Project in support of petitioner, explaining that the university’s secret race-conscious admissions process undermined the school’s ability to satisfy strict scrutiny.
Decision below: Fisher v. Univ. of Texas at Austin, 758 F.3d 633 (5th Cir. 2014).
Evenwel v. Abbott, Docket No. 14-940, probable jurisdiction noted, 135 S. Ct. 2349 (May 26, 2015)
Filed amici curiae brief for prominent demographers and the Pacific Research Institute in support of appellants, explaining that data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey is valid and reliable enough to allow states to draw legislative districts in compliance with the “one-person, one-vote” doctrine.
Filed amicus curiae brief for the Southeastern Legal Foundation in support of appellants, asking the Court to confirm that voters may raise a vote-dilution claim under the Fourteenth Amendment where a state apportions its legislative districts based on total population without considering voter population.
Decision below: Evenwel v. Perry, 2014 WL 5780507 (W.D. Tex. Nov. 5, 2014).
O’Keefe v. Chisholm, Docket No. 14-872, cert. denied, 135 S. Ct. 2311 (May 18, 2015)
Filed amicus curiae brief for the Cato Institute in support of petition for a writ of certiorari, asking the Court to confirm that victims of retaliatory, bad-faith investigations by state officials have a federal remedy for such abuse.
Decision below: O’Keefe v. Chisholm, 769 F.3d 936 (7th Cir. 2014).
King v. Burwell, Docket No. 14-114, 576 U.S. — (Jun. 25, 2015)
Filed amici curiae brief for Professor Jonathan H. Adler and Michael F. Cannon in support of petitioners, arguing that IRS rule offering premium assistance tax credits through federally established health insurance exchanges is contrary to the language of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and must therefore be set aside.
Related: Filed amici curiae brief for Adler and Cannon opposing rehearing en banc in Halbig v. Burwell, 758 F.3d 390 (D.C. Cir. 2014).
Decision below: King v. Burwell, 759 F.3d 358 (4th Cir. 2014).
Filed amicus curiae brief for the Cato Institute in support of petition for a writ of certiorari, asking the Supreme Court to reaffirm that when the government contracts with private parties it must be held to the same standards governing contractual relationships between private individuals. Such a rule is essential to protect the bargained-for expectations of its contracting partners and to maintain the government’s credibility in the marketplace.
Decision below: Century Exploration New Orleans, LLC v. United States, 745 F.3d 1168 (Fed. Cir. 2014).
Hickenlooper v. Kerr, Docket No. 14-460, cert. granted, vacated and remanded, 135 S. Ct. 2927 (Jun. 30, 2015)
Joined amici curiae brief on behalf National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, et al. in support of petition for certiorari, asking the Supreme Court to clarify the circumstances in which a challenge based on the Guarantee Clause, Article IV, § 4, of the United States Constitution are justiciable.
Decision below: Kerr v. Hickenlooper, 744 F.3d 1156 (10th Cir. 2014), reh’g denied, 759 F.3d 1186.
Drake v. Jerejian, Docket No. 13-827, cert. denied, 134 S. Ct. 2134 (May 5, 2014)
Filed amici curiae brief on behalf of Members of Congress in support of petition for a writ of certiorari, asking the Supreme Court to affirm that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for self-defense extends outside of the home.
Decision below: Drake v. Filko, 724 F.3d 426 (3d Cir. 2013).
Mariner’s Cove Townhomes Ass’n v. United States, Docket No. 12-1453
Filed amici curiae brief for the Cato Institute, Professors Richard A. Epstein and others in support of petition for a writ of certiorari, asking the Supreme Court to clarify whether the right to collect community association fees—and, more generally, the right to receive an income stream from real property—is a compensable property right under the Fifth Amendment.
Decision below: United States v. 0.073 Acres of land, 705 F.3d 540 (5th Cir. 2013).
Filed amici curiae brief for the Cato Institute, Texas Public Policy Foundation, and Professors James W. Ely, Jr. and Donald J. Kochan in support of petition for a writ of certiorari, asking the Supreme Court to clarify the standard of review applied to pretextual takings claims.
Decision below: MHC Financing Ltd. P’ship v. City of San Rafael, 714 F.3d 1118 (9th Cir. 2013).
California Supreme Court
Cal Fire Local 2881 v. CalPERS, Case No. S239958
Filed amici curiae brief for Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and Ventura County Taxpayers Association in support of respondents, arguing that the so-called “California Rule” governing pension modifications is incongruous with state and federal constitutional law, and discussing the ramifications of the rule on state and local government.
Delano Farms Company v. Cal. Table Grape Comm’n, S226538
Filed amici curiae brief for the Cato Institute, Institute for Justice, and Reason Foundation, asking the Court to exercise caution when interpreting the government-speech doctrine.
Tuolumne Jobs & Small Business Alliance v. Super. Ct., 59 Cal.4th 1029 (2014)
Filed amicus curiae brief for Citizens in Charge, asking the Court to confirm that citizen-sponsored land use initiatives adopted by local governments are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act.
Decision below: Tuolumne Jobs & Small Business Alliance v. Super. Ct., 210 Cal. App. 4th 1006 (2012).
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Ass’n v. Bowen, 62 Cal.4th 486 (2016)
Filed amicus curiae letter for Citizens in Charge, supporting petitioner’s request for a writ of mandate commanding the Secretary of State to refrain from placing a legislative advisory measure on the November 2014 general election ballot.
Other
Publius v. Boyer-Vine, No. 1:16-cv-1152-LJO-SKO (E.D. Cal.)
Obtained permanent injunction enjoining the California Legislative Counsel from enforcing statute prohibiting the publication of public officials’ contact information on the Internet on First Amendment and Dormant Commerce Clause grounds. Publius v. Boyer-Vine, 237 F.Supp.3d 997 (E.D. Cal. 2017).
Successfully protected anonymous blogger’s right to bring First Amendment case pseudonymously. Publius v. Boyer-Vine, 321 F.R.D. 358 (E.D. Cal. 2017).
Click here to read the complaint
Order granting preliminary injunction
Reed v. Gallagher, 248 Cal.App.4th 841 (Cal. Ct. App. 2016)
Successfully defended state legislator in defamation action over campaign advertisement, and obtained order for payment of attorney’s fees under California’s anti-SLAPP statute.
Competitive Enterprise Institute v. Mann, Case Nos. 14-CV-101, 14-CV-126
Filed amici curiae brief for the Cato Institute, Reason Foundation, Individual Rights Foundation and Goldwater Institute asking the Court to reverse the superior court’s denial of appellants’ special motions to dismiss Dr. Michael Mann’s defamation claims because the First Amendment requires that disputes over matters of public concern be settled by competition in the marketplace of ideas.