Arizona court strips agencies of the right to supply their own facts in court
Under Arizona law, when a government agency asserted something as fact, courts were required to accept it, as long as any evidence supported it—even a shred, even if the weight of the evidence pointed the other way. That standard, known as substantial evidence review, gave agencies something no ordinary litigant enjoys: the ability to lose on the ...
The Docket : May 29, 2026
The Docket is PLF's weekly newsletter covering the cases, clients, and policy battles shaping the future of liberty in America. You can catch up on last week's Docket here and subscribe below to receive future editions in your inbox. PLF's Anastasia Boden launches a new podcast, In Dissent; a Honolulu retiree files a lawsuit chall ...
One mother’s fight to restore merit-based admissions in NYC’s Specialized High Schools
Every November, students vying for a spot at one of New York City's eight Specialized High Schools take the admissions exam that will determine their academic trajectory. The notoriously rigorous Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) spans three hours and assesses a student's abilities in English language arts and mathematics. Admissi ...
The Calm Before the Avalanche
The Calm Before the Avalanche But first… Guys, your new favorite podcast is out! I love a good Supreme Court dissent—so I created a podcast about them. In the first season, we get meta; we talk about America's first great dissent—The Declaration of Independence—through the lens of Supreme Court dissents. We trace the Declaration's pr ...
How agencies make law without making law
"Nonbinding." In government parlance, it means a document doesn't carry the force of law—that it's guidance, not a mandate. So why did an agency "guidance document" carry enough legal weight to prevent a family-owned Alaska business from moving its pipe storage operation to a larger lot—land bordered by a junk car dealer, a scrap metal deale ...
Washington ranchers get their day in court—to fight for their day in court
The King family has worked the same stretch of Central Washington for more than 70 years, running cattle across Grant and Douglas counties on land they've ranched since the 1950s. On May 21, a Grant County Superior Court judge heard oral argument on whether the Kings are entitled to defend that legacy before a jury—or whether Washington State ...
Reason : The Federal Government Tried To Spy on Your Financial Transactions. A Texas Court Just Said No.
Let's say you've worked hard, saved money, and decided to buy a house to rent out. You want to purchase it outright, with cash, through an LLC to save thousands on financing costs and limit your personal liability. You're not laundering drug money. You're not funneling proceeds from some shadowy foreign government. You're doing exactly what million ...
The Docket : May 22, 2026
The Docket is PLF's weekly newsletter covering the cases, clients, and policy battles shaping the future of liberty in America. You can catch up on last week's Docket here and subscribe below to receive future editions in your inbox. PLF announces the Next Civil Rights Act; the Arizona Supreme Court delivers a landmark r ...
National Review : Time to End Race and Gender Preferences in Government Contracts
Imagine losing a federal contract — despite submitting the lowest bid and the strongest proposal — because of the color of your skin or your sex. Most Americans would call that discrimination. The Constitution calls it unconstitutional. And yet, for decades, this is exactly what the federal government has been doing: It's allowed to engage in p ...