Articles

Board game companies sue Trump administration over unconstitutional tariffs 

April 24, 2025 | By NICOLE W.C. YEATMAN

Board game companies Stonemaier Games, XYZ Game Labs, Spielcraft Games, Rookie Mage, and Tinkerhouse Games are suing the Trump administration over its tariffs, which President Donald Trump set at 145% for most products manufactured in China. Nearly 70% of board games are made in China, making the China tariff an "existential" threat to the American ...

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Ninth Circuit considers first grader’s free speech in ‘any life’ drawing case

April 10, 2025 | By NICOLE W.C. YEATMAN

Did a California school district violate the First Amendment when it punished a first grader for writing "Black Lives Mater sic ... any life" on a drawing and giving it to a friend? That question was before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in oral arguments this week. Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Caleb Trotter argued the case of B.B. v. C ...

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Rhode Island town seizes family’s land in eminent domain scandal

March 21, 2025 | By NICOLE W.C. YEATMAN

A shocking eminent domain scandal is unfolding in Johnston, Rhode Island: Last week, the Town secretly took possession of a family's 31-acre property, only notifying the owners afterward in a letter demanding they "remove all vehicles and other personal belongings from the property immediately" or they'd be served with a no trespass notice. "I w ...

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Here’s the status of COVID-19 policies, 5 years later

March 18, 2025 | By NICOLE W.C. YEATMAN

The COVID-19 pandemic happened "gradually and then suddenly," to steal from Hemingway. In early 2020, the U.S. Commerce Secretary optimistically predicted that the coronavirus outbreak in China would "help to accelerate the return of jobs to North America." New York City's health commissioner encouraged New Yorkers "to go about their everyday lives ...

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Nebraska man gets his home back after home equity theft

January 10, 2025 | By NICOLE W.C. YEATMAN

The government took his home in 2018 over a $588 property tax debt. But a few days before Christmas 2024, Kevin Fair, an ailing Nebraska widower, found out he was getting back the title to his home.   Now a GoFundMe has raised over $16,000 so Kevin, who recently had a stroke, can build a ramp for his home, make some other repairs, and meet upcom ...

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Victory! Court rules against the California Coastal Commission in San Luis Obispo

January 09, 2025 | By NICOLE W.C. YEATMAN

There are legal victories, and then there are legal victories—court rulings so decisive, so sharply written, that they can only be considered a judicial knockout.  Case in point: Al Hadian and Ralph Bookout's New Year's Eve victory against the California Coastal Commission.  The (brief) backstory  Al and Ralph sued the Commission in 2022 with ...

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Supreme Court vaping case is about the regulatory process

December 13, 2024 | By NICOLE W.C. YEATMAN

You don't have to be a fan of flavored vapes to find the White Lion case, argued on December 2 at the Supreme Court, a fascinating example of a company struggling against an opaque and changing regulatory process.  The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, passed in 2009 under President Barack Obama, gives the Food and Drug Administ ...

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A year into Texas lawsuit, artist reflects on what her city has lost

October 23, 2024 | By KAY RAY-SMITH

Kay Ray-Smith co-owns Tilt Vision, a mural painting business in Texas, with her husband Brad. Last year they filed a lawsuit against the city for banning their murals. A year into the lawsuit, Kay reflects on how the city not only jeopardized the couple's livelihood and infringed on their constitutional rights, but also deprived emerging artists of ...

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PLF wins North America Liberty Award for defeating home equity theft at the Supreme Court

September 13, 2024 | By NICOLE W.C. YEATMAN

Pacific Legal Foundation's 2023 Supreme Court victory in Tyler v. Hennepin County changed lives—and is now being recognized for advancing freedom and human progress in America.   For years, local governments across the country manipulated tax forfeiture laws to steal from vulnerable Americans—most of them ill, elderly, jobless, immigrant, or str ...