The Docket: June 26, 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.
Highlighting Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurrence in Pung v. Isabella County; launching a new fight against an old foe; and a trio of Nebraska mothers sues to restore home-birth freedom.
Justice Thomas says the quiet part out loud in Pung
“What Isabella County did to the Pungs was wrong, and, on my initial view, likely unconstitutional.”
That’s how Justice Clarence Thomas closed his 15-page concurrence in Tuesday’s Pung decision. As PLF’s Brittany Hunter explains, Justice Thomas’ concurrence offered a master class in the history and legal traditions undergirding property rights—ultimately making clear that the Pungs’ fight is far from over.
Anastasia Boden joins NewsNation to discuss Thursday’s Supreme Court opinions
Last night, PLF director of constitutional scholarship Anastasia Boden joined NewsNation to offer her analysis of the major Supreme Court opinions of the day.
Watch the full seven-minute segment below and check out Anastasia’s latest edition of SCOTUS Scoop for sharp, liberty-forward takes on the Court’s biggest decisions.
Ohio court strikes down local law that criminalized feeding the homeless
On Tuesday, a federal court struck down a Dayton, Ohio, law criminalizing our clients’ efforts to provide free meals and supplies to the city’s homeless community.
Nourish Our Neighbors founder McKahla Moran launched the organization in 2022 to provide food, clothing, and hygiene products to Dayton’s most vulnerable residents. But during an April 2024 event, city officers ordered the group to stop distributing free food—even handcuffing and detaining one volunteer who handed a burrito to a homeless man.
Now vindicated, the group plans to host another distribution event on July 5 at Levitt Pavilion (134 S Main St, Dayton, OH 45402) at 11 a.m.
Tennessee city fights back against unconstitutional delegation of executive power
Earlier this week, PLF joined the City of Springfield, Tennessee, in challenging the constitutionality of a citizen suit brought against it by an Alabama-based group called Tennessee Riverkeeper alleging violations at the City’s wastewater facility.
Riverkeeper has filed 30 similar lawsuits against small towns and businesses across Tennessee and Alabama—many of which have settled rather than devote years and large sums of taxpayer funds to costly litigation battles.
Springfield chose to fight back—emboldened by the results of a near-identical suit filed and rapidly abandoned by Riverkeeper last year against the City of Luttrell, Tennessee, just weeks after PLF announced its involvement in the case.
Nebraska mothers sue to restore home-birth freedom
Three Nebraska mothers filed federal lawsuits earlier this week, challenging the state’s ban on certified nurse midwife-assisted home births.
PLF clients Emily Tvrdy and Amanda Musilek argue that the law violates their rights by burdening both their religious exercise and their freedom to choose how and where to give birth. In a separate case, Kate Ternus alleges that the ban violates her Fourteenth Amendment right to make intimate decisions about childbirth free from government interference.
We’re proud to represent Emily, Amanda, and Kate in their fight to restore home-birth freedom to Nebraska families and reaffirm that the government cannot override intimate family decisions without sufficient justification.
PLF in the News
- USA Today: Supreme Court lets Michigan family fight foreclosure in equity theft case
- Reason: Supreme Court issues terrible takings decision in Pung v. Isabella County
- Reason: The government seized their $195,000 home over a $2,242 debt. What does the Supreme Court say they’re owed?
- Times Union: Hochul’s decision on federal school choice program should be just the first step
- The Washington Post: Pay $50,000 to do her job? This nurse practitioner is suing.
