University of California Santa Cruz
J.D. Haltigan v. Michael Drake

Fighting unconstitutional DEI “loyalty oaths” at the University of California

UC Santa Cruz's DEI declaration mandates are clearly unconstitutional. Government job seekers should be judged by their qualifications, not an ideological litmus test. Universities do not have carte blanche to engage in deliberate viewpoint discrimination through the hiring process. A DEI statement requirement is alarmingly similar to the "loyal ...

Weiss SJSU Photo
Weiss v. Perez

Professor challenges university’s unlawful viewpoint discrimination

Dr. Elizabeth Weiss, a highly decorated, fully tenured professor of anthropology at San Jose State University (SJSU), specializes in osteology—the study of human skeletal remains. As part of her work, she has published and spoken about the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and similar laws, which require laboratories ...

Real estate love letters
Total Real Estate Group v. Strode

Real estate brokers fight “love letter” ban for the right to speak freely

At a time when home sales have become a cutthroat business, every bargaining chip matters—to buyers, sellers, and the real estate companies in between. Prospective buyers commonly use so-called "love letters" to move sellers' hearts—and sales—in their direction. ...

Antique Case Page Collage
Art and Antique Dealers League of America v. Seggos

Antique dealers fight for right to display what they’re allowed to sell

Manhattan's antique district is filled with galleries where customers can physically inspect valuable antiques before buying them. But shops cannot display all the merchandise they are allowed to sell. Federal law allows sales of antiques containing ivory that are at least 100 years old, but if antiques contain more than 20% ivory, state law bans t ...

Anne Bernstein house
The Clementine Co. v. Adams

New York City’s unequal COVID restrictions silence theaters

New York City actress and theater manager Catherine Russell began her starring role in Perfect Crime in 1987. Over that time, she missed only four days—to attend family weddings—a record-setting run of more than 12,000 performances that lasted until March 2020 when the pandemic was declared. At that point, Catherine implemented extensive COVID ...

Barbwire
Kissel v. Seagull

Fighting unconstitutional burdens on free speech in fundraising

Adam Kissel looked forward to lending his longtime experience in the liberty movement and higher education to help raise money for the nonprofit Jack Miller Center's civic education program. But he soon discovered several states have overly burdensome registration and reporting requirements for paid solicitors. Connecticut, in particular, required� ...

Malibu Coast Hero Image
Seider v. City of Malibu

Property rights on the line in family’s battle for beachfront signage

Dennis and Leah Seider simply want to alert beachgoers to where the public right of access to the beach ends, the Seiders' private Malibu property begins, and the way to the nearby public beach. Their best hope to protect their property rights and avoid potential confrontations with beachgoers would be a sign. But that hope faded when they learned ...

First Amendment lawsuit filed in federal court
Ogilvie v. Gordon

California’s DMV strays from its own lane to act as speech police

To Chris Ogilvie's military friends, he's known as OG—a nickname stemming from boot camp. To his friends back home, Chris is known as Woolf. So, upon his honorable discharge following four tours overseas including Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army veteran bought a car and applied for a personalized license plate spelled "OGWOOLF." The DMV rejected h ...

American society of journalist
American Society of Journalists and Authors v. Bonta

California’s freelancer law destroys journalists’ freedom, autonomy

In an effort to regulate the employment status of independent contractors, California passed a law forcing companies in the state to reclassify most freelancers as employees. Under AB 5, freelance journalists and photographers must cap their submissions at 35 per year, per publisher. Anything greater, and they become employees, losing their profess ...