The Docket: November 6, 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.
An Arizona agency’s cage-free egg mandate is ruled invalid and unenforceable; a new episode of American Heroes features a North Dakota farmer locked in a federal lawsuit with the Fish and Wildlife Service; and a California production company fights for its right to a jury trial.
Tucson restaurateur wins challenge to Arizona’s cage-free egg rule
In 2022, the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA) adopted a sweeping mandate that all eggs sold in the state must come from cage-free hens, with minor exceptions. According to the agency’s own findings, the rule would result in substantial price increases for consumers.
To make matters worse, AZDA acted unilaterally, promulgating the major rule at the behest of one of its regulated industries—and at the expense of everyone else—without legislative authorization.
Rather than simply bracing for impact, Grant Krueger, an Arizona-based restaurant owner, chose to take a stand. He partnered with PLF and the Goldwater Institute to challenge AZDA’s overreach, and on October 29, his efforts paid off.
American Heroes: A farmer’s fight to care for his own land
On this month’s episode of American Heroes, Kathy Hoekstra sits down with PLF client and third-generation North Dakota farmer Cody Peterson to discuss his ongoing federal lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
Under a new interpretation of decades-old land easements, FWS dramatically expanded its power throughout the “prairie-pothole” region of the upper Midwest, prohibiting farmers, like Cody and his family, from using common farming techniques across millions of acres of farmland, all at the stroke of a pen.
TV production company fights NLRB’s power to order damages without a jury
Imagine you’re accused of an “unfair labor practice” for replacing a handful of staff on your production crew. But rather than being able to defend your actions in a fair trial—before an independent judge, fixed rules of evidence, and a jury—an executive branch agency adjudicates your case from start to finish, inventing penalties that Congress never authorized.
If that sounds like a perverse miscarriage of justice, you’re not wrong.
Last week, PLF partnered with X Factor S2, LLC—a television production company based in Escondido, California—to challenge the National Labor Relations Board’s sham trial.
Nevada Supreme Court lets licensing board fine architect without a jury
Late last week, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled that PLF client Jeffrey Hagen, a California-based architect, had no right to a jury trial before a state licensing board imposed over $29,000 in fines.
Jeffrey’s crime? After a longtime client bought a property in Las Vegas, Jeffrey drew up plans for an interior remodel and submitted an application to the Nevada State Board of Architecture. The Board charged him with practicing architecture in Nevada without a Nevada license—and after an in-house hearing with no jury, it levied substantial fines.
Now, with PLF’s help, Jeffrey’s planning to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to take up his case to establish that the Seventh Amendment’s jury trial guarantee protects Americans facing state penalties, too.
Quick Hits
- SCOTUS Scoop: Scalia’s least favorite monster
- Real Clear Energy: Permitting reform could be a victory for the environment
- National Review: Congress seeks a shot clock on the permitting fast lane
