Articles

In George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, police monitored residents of Oceania for evidence of “thoughtcrime.”  In Pippen v. Iowa, a case that takes the concept of unintentional discrimination to dangerous new levels, that concept doesn’t seem too far away.  In Pippen, several black employees and job applicants filed a law ...

PLF attorneys have been involved in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) cases from the law’s inception, to keep the government honest and to protect private property rights.  We recently filed two amicus pleadings in the California Supreme Court that are discussed here and here. Now, it appears, that legislators are concerned the Act ...

Last year at this time we highlighted 2011’s greatest school choice victory, Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn.  In that case, the United States Supreme Court authorized tax credits for private schools.  By holding that the plaintiffs did not have taxpayer standing to pursue their claim, the Supreme Court basically ensur ...

Individual Rights — Defending the right to petition our government. Hollingsworth v. Perry in the U.S. Supreme Court. We addressed the question whether sponsors of initiatives have standing to defend those initiatives in court — especially when a state’s attorney general refuses to defend the measure. PLF’s amicus brief, fil ...

It is said that a person’s home is his castle, but it is apparently not a personal billboard, at least according to a recent decision from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. In Brown v. Town of Cary, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 1423 (4th Cir., Jan 22, 2013), that court held that a homeowner had … ...

NPR’s All Things Considered interviewed PLF’s Alan DeSerio about the wood stork’s imminent change from “endangered” to “threatened” status.  As I wrote last month, the proposed status change comes after years of PLF pressuring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to follow its own rules: If an animal is no l ...

For nearly a decade, PLF was locked in litigation with Kitsap County over its critical areas ordinance.  Although the ordinance was ultimately upheld, we scored quite a few wins along the way. One of those wins may have turned the tide on a growing trend among local governments of addressing conflicts between homes and newly … ...

A great video from our friends at LearnLiberty.org … ...

The first new copper and nickel mine to open in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in decades should be up and running next year.  After passing intensive environmental review, Eagle Mine obtained all state approvals necessary to begin operations.  It will soon employ hundreds of workers and will be an economic bright spot in a part of … ...