Articles

Wall Street Journal : Career civil servants illegitimately rule America

February 28, 2018 | By TODD GAZIANO

Originally published in The Wall Street Journal February 28, 2018. After Kimberly Manor lost her husband to lung cancer, she was inspired to make a dramatic career change. Kimberly now owns and operates Moose Jooce in Lake, Mich., a “vape shop” that sells various electronic nicotine devices. These products use battery-powered coils to v ...

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Wednesday : PLF argues First Amendment case before the Supreme Court

February 27, 2018 | By WENCONG FA

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear PLF’s First Amendment challenge in Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky. The case involves a Minnesota law that allows the government to fine voters just for wearing a t-shirt with a logo of a “political” group. As the government itself noted, the law goes far beyond a ban on … ...

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Inching closer to freeing workers from compulsory unionism

February 26, 2018 | By DEBORAH LA FETRA

This morning, I attended oral argument in Janus v. AFSCME, the case that will decide whether to overrule the 41-year old case of Abood v. Detroit Board of Education and henceforth prevent states from allowing unions to garnish the wages of public employees to support union activities. The Court was a hive of activity, inside … ...

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Weekly litigation update — February 24, 2018

February 24, 2018 | By JAMES BURLING

Federal judge grants temporary restraining order against Mount Dora over Starry Night mural  Does the California ESA extend to your neighborhood squirrel population? PLF opposes Seattle’s attempt to levy an unconstitutional “wealth tax” Supreme Court declines to review important timber sale case Opening brief challenging Seattle& ...

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Government of the bureaucrats, by the bureaucrats, and for the bureaucrats

February 23, 2018 | By TIMOTHY SNOWBALL

The American Republic is in the midst of a constitutional crisis. The size, scope, and power of the modern administrative state has far surpassed even the direst imaginings of the Founding Fathers. One of the primary ways Thomas Jefferson justified the split from Great Britain in the Declaration of Independence was King George III’s empowerme ...

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The Daily Signal : Don’t punish people with delinquent student loans by revoking their work licenses

February 23, 2018 | By CALEB TROTTER

Published at The Daily Signal February 23, 2018.  Nearly one-third of Americans today must be licensed by the government in order to do their jobs. Many of those people are among the 44 million Americans who have outstanding student loans. For that group of people, falling behind on student loan payments can mean that the … ...

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New brief in California Coho listing challenge

February 22, 2018 | By DAMIEN SCHIFF

Yesterday PLF filed an amicus letter urging the California Supreme Court to grant review in Central Coast Forest Association v. Fish & Game Commission. In this case, the California court of appeal upheld (on remand from the state’s high court*) the Commission’s decision to protect various ephemeral and hatchery-dependent populations ...

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Seattle clashes with the First Amendment

February 22, 2018 | By ETHAN BLEVINS

Today, we filed the opening brief on appeal in Elster v. City of Seattle, our legal challenge to Seattle’s program that forces taxpayers to pay for private individuals’ campaign contributions. Seattle calls this a “democracy voucher” program. Here’s how it works: the city hands out four $25 vouchers to each Seattle r ...

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Family files federal complaint to save their ‘Starry Night’ mural

February 20, 2018 | By JEREMY TALCOTT

Today we filed this complaint against the City of Mount Dora, along with emergency motions asking for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the city. We alleged that the city has acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally by fining Nancy Nemhauser and Lubek Jastrzebski for a Starry Night-inspired mural that adorns the wall ...