The Docket: September 11, 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.
A former corrections officer asks the U.S. Supreme Court to take up his case over racially hostile “equity” trainings; a Texas contractor celebrates victory after a federal court affirms his right to a jury trial; and invites are out for a live event next Tuesday covering four of PLF’s most outrageous cases.
Live Event: Vindicated—How to fight government abuse and win
Join us on September 15 at 3:00 PM ET / 12:00 PM PT for a live virtual event highlighting four of PLF’s most outrageous cases, as told by the attorneys who litigated them.
Note: A recording of the discussion will be circulated to all registrants after the event, so feel free to RSVP even if you’re unsure whether you’ll be able to attend live.
Texas contractor celebrates legal victory as court affirms his right to jury trial
PLF client Michael Ramirez renovates houses for a living. When a fire damaged one he owned in Texas City, he hired an architect and started working toward permits to repair it. Later, the City demolished the house without proper notice—along with tools and other personal belongings Michael had stored at the home.
A federal judge agreed that the City had violated Michael’s right to due process. But it was a hollow victory, as Michael was denied his right to a jury trial and awarded just $1 in damages.
With PLF’s help, Michael appealed, and last week a federal appeals court affirmed his right to a jury, remanding the case to the lower court for Michael to continue his fight for justice.
Colorado corrections sergeant challenges race-based blame in state’s mandatory training
No employee should have to accept an environment that charges him with collective guilt for his race just to keep his paycheck—and no employer, especially the government, should be allowed to make racially hostile training a condition of employment.
Yet those are the exact circumstances that Joshua Young faced, seven years and two promotions into a promising career as a corrections officer at Colorado’s Limon Correctional Facility. Now, with PLF’s help, he’s asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take up his case.
Trump orders Department of the Interior to finalize gray wolf’s listing status
Last Friday, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of the Interior to decide whether the gray wolf should still be protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
“During the previous administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s own scientists found that western gray wolves no longer meet the ESA’s definition of endangered or threatened,” said PLF’s Mark Miller. “The ESA doesn’t give the federal government a license to keep that finding in a drawer while it continues to bind the hands of ranchers, farmers, and property owners who simply want to put their land to productive use.”
Quick Hits
- Court finds constitutional violation in fishery council, lets rule stand anyway
- A guide to your rights and searches of personal property when traveling
- Seattle drops race-based priorities from garden program
