Pacific Legal Foundation

Sixth-generation rancher Chris Heaton’s land, family legacy, and rights are under threat by President Biden’s new national monument designation.

TLDR: Exceeding the limits of the Antiquities Act is simply an abuse of presidential power 🤠👎

Heaton et al. v. Biden et al. Chris Heaton is a sixth-generation landowner and rancher who embodies the rugged individualism, adventurism, and tireless work ethic of the American West. Chris’s land, family legacy, and rights have landed in the crosshairs of President Biden’s new national monument designation. Represented by ...

"Affinity classes" (aka racial segregation) are not a valid, reasonable, or acceptable option for ensuring students receive a good education.

Discourse: Segregation By Any Other Name School segregation has risen from the grave—disguised under a different name. An increasing number of school districts are offering "affinity classes" that cater to specific racial groups. Schools have long offered racially segregated options for electives such as African American history or mento...

“What could a straight white male possibly offer our department?”

This is the kind of harassment our client Joshua Diemert experienced at Seattle's Human Services Department.

Will White Males Become an Endangered Species in the Workplace? America was founded on the principle that “all men are created equal.” So how did whites end up at the bottom of a new hierarchy of races? Why are lawsuits by whites alleging “reverse discrimination” -– r...

Tag your freedom-loving valentine 🥰

"I want to provide the proper care for my patients no matter where they are, and I shouldn’t have to risk losing my license—or jail time—to do so."

Our client Dr. MacDonald is among those fighting New Jersey's unconstitutional telehealth restrictions:

The Wall Street Journal: The Doctor Is In, but the Patient Is Out of State State emergency orders during the Covid pandemic made it possible for patients in one state to consult with doctors in another via telephone and internet. Those orders have now expired, however, and that flexibility has ended. With limited exceptions, doctors can practice medicine only in states whe...

Frank Black had nearly achieved the American Dream after putting himself through school, starting his own investment firm, and employing more than 100 people.

But then the administrative state stepped in.
https://pacificlegal.org/case/black-finra-alj/

SpaceX is in the right. Federal agencies shouldn't be able to act as both judge and jury.

Will Elon Musk’s Twitter s*x jokes end the administrative state? Earlier this month, SpaceX—where Musk is co-founder and CEO—filed a lawsuit in federal court against the National Labor Relations Board.

6 years seems like a sufficient period of time for a business to challenge a new federal rule.

But what if your business didn't exist within those 6 years? Can you NEVER sue?

It's at the heart of an upcoming SCOTUS case:

In Corner Post, the Supreme Court will decide when federal regulations can be challenged What if you are being harmed by a government rule issued before you even existed? That is the situation in which Corner Post finds itself.

School district in Evanston, IL implements segregated math and English classes.

Segregation By Any Other Name In violation of the U.S. Constitution, affinity groupings are reintroducing segregation in K-12 classrooms

Do cities owe the homeless a place to sleep? Can cities fine & remove the homeless from city streets without providing them shelters?

SCOTUS has agreed to hear a case dealing with these questions. In the meantime, we have some answers.

SCOTUS agrees to hear important case about homelessness Does the Constitution demand that the government do something for us proactively or does it rather state what the government cannot do to us?

NEW CASE ⬇️

Farmer is bumped to the back of the line for grant assistance because he has the wrong race and gender.

Lance Nistler v. Walz, et al. The Minnesota’s Down Payment Assistance Grant Program’s disfavoring of white male farmers violates the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee. In fact, the Supreme Court has repeatedly said government cannot discriminate by race or s*x except in very narrow cases of past discrimination—a ...

The City of Edmonds, WA, is barking up the wrong tree.

By prohibiting landowners from removing trees on their own properties, the City is unconstitutionally hijacking the building permit process—and Nathan's rights—to get more trees in the city for free.

Taking a case all the way to the Supreme Court is easier said than done, but sometimes that's what it takes to ensure our constitutional rights as Americans are protected.

Here's what it takes to get a case before the Court 👇

How does a case get to the Supreme Court? “I’ll take it all the way to the Supreme Court.” It’s easier said than done. It can take years for a case to wind its way through the courts.

$23,420.

That's the fee El Dorado County felt "appropriate" to issue George Sheetz, a retiree building his manufactured home.

After a seven-year legal battle, George just watched his case argued in front of the Supreme Court.

California county bills man $23,000 to build house on own property. Now the Supreme Court will decide his case A California county told a construction worker he'd have to pay $23,000 to obtain a building permit for a new house, so he sued. Now the Supreme Court will rule on the case.

We were thrilled when SCOTUS ruled for us last summer, agreeing that home equity theft is not constitutional. But now comes the difficult part: getting states to comply.

Legislation is the only path to complete reform.

Via City Journal

How to End Home-Equity Theft The Supreme Court declared the practice unconstitutional—now what?

How and where a mother chooses to bring her baby into the world is a deeply personal decision that should be free from government interference.

Caitlin wants to give women more choices for childbirth. Certificate of Need laws give them fewer. It’s that simple.

Our client George Sheetz profiled on today:

California county bills man $23,000 to build house on own property. Now the Supreme Court will decide his case A California county told a construction worker he'd have to pay $23,000 to obtain a building permit for a new house, so he sued. Now the Supreme Court will rule on the case.

Iowa’s gender quota required that each district elect one man and one woman to the Judicial Nominating Commission. Men could run only for Commission seats previously held by a man, and women could run only for Commission seats previously held by a woman. Did you follow all that?

Anyway now it's no longer allowed, thanks to our recent win in district court 😏

Victory : Court rules gender quota unconstitutional Your gender shouldn’t disqualify you from a public position: That’s the key takeaway from PLF's victory in Hurley v. Gast in Iowa.

Jerry Thompson was once confident his family landscaping business would protect his kids' future by providing the best work for the lowest price.

But Houston's race-based contracting has changed the game.

“I can just see this thing destroying our business”

Landscape Consultants of Texas, et al. v. City of Houston, et al. Jerry and Theresa Thompson have called Houston, Texas, home for more than 30 years. They love the area, having raised their family and built Landscape Consultants of Texas and Metropolitan Landscape Management, Inc., two thriving companies whose landscapers maintain parks, playgrounds, and other gov...

Our client George Sheetz says the journey from fighting his county planning office all the way to the Supreme Court has been long, and he understands why most people give up.

Yet, he calls the experience a thrill ride and is hopeful for victory—and vindication.

Insane stat of the day: We found that 71% of rules issued by Dept of Health and Human Services were issued by unelected bureaucrats.

This level of power is supposed to be paired with accountability: officials confirmed by the Senate, and able to be fired by the President.

The Constitution’s Overlooked Road Map for an Accountable Bureaucracy Revitalizing the appointments clause in contemporary jurisprudence will help restore and safeguard the accountability of the federal government.

The pandemic prompted many states to suspend telehealth restrictions so that doctors in one state could treat patients in another state without having to get licensed there.

Cancer patients in particular benefited from this change.

But now states like New Jersey are reinstating telehealth restrictions. We're not sure who benefits from this, but it is certainly not patients.

Shannon MacDonald, M.D., et al. v. Otto Sabando Violating New Jersey’s telehealth restriction is punishable by criminal charges and hefty fines and can put the doctor’s medical license at risk. New Jersey’s telehealth restrictions are not just wrong, they’re also unconstitutional. Placing undue burdens on both out-of-state physicians and ...

When ‘Law Runs Out,’ the Government Runs Out | National Review The Supreme Court should overturn Chevron and not let the executive branch decide for itself what power it has over the people.

If GOP governors really mean what they say about DEI programs, they'll pass legislation to repeal discriminatory race & gender preferences and replace them with laws protecting equality.

Good news: We've already gone ahead & drafted model bills for you 😉

The Hill: Republican governors should end racial preferences at the state level GOP governors like Florida's Ron DeSantis and Alabama's Kay Ivey have been making splashy headlines for attacking diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards at companies like BlackRock and Disney. But the laws of their own states allow rac...

New case:

The Labor Department’s new classification rule makes it harder to be an independent contractor, by muddying the waters between who is an independent contractor and who is an employee.

Freelancers sue Department of Labor over vague, new contracting rule Yesterday, the founders of Fight For Freelancers, a coalition of more than 2,500 freelancers in professions ranging from writing to truck driving, filed a lawsuit challenging a new Department of Labor rule that encourages businesses to classify contractors as employees.

One week ago, our attorney Brian Hodges was part of the team who argued Sheetz v. County of El Dorado at the Supreme Court. He shared with us his feelings about the day:

"This is my fourth time being on a team at SCOTUS, and it never ceases to overwhelm me walking in those halls, walking up the stairs. Especially the moment that really gets me is when you’re in the lawyers’ lounge. You’ve got hundreds of years of continued tradition. Every great case has begun that the advocates were in that same room. They were pacing the same worn marble floor. There’s just such a sense of tradition and duty and consistency of the law, that you are part of the law when you’re going there to advocate on behalf of your clients, and it’s really overwhelming."

Photo, from left to right: Attorneys Damien Schiff, Paul Beard, Brian Hodges, Larry Salzman, and our client George Sheetz.

✌️ VICTORY IN IOWA ✌️

Gender quotas. Not even once.

Iowa law requiring gender balance on judicial commissions struck down as unconstitutional Iowa's law requiring gender balance on commission that recommends judicial nominees violates constitutional equal protection guarantee, judge rules

Nathan, who has navigated building codes and regulations for two decades, wants to build a family home.

Seems straightforward...right?
https://pacificlegal.org/case/rimmer-housing-forever-trees/

Pacific Legal Foundation We sue the government when it violates Americans’ constitutional rights—and we win.

It’s wrong (and unconstitutional) for the government to make assumptions about people’s experiences and qualifications based on their race.

We're teaming up with the healthcare group Do No Harm to challenge the Louisiana medical board’s race-based membership quota.

Do No Harm v. John Bel Edwards Represented by Pacific Legal Foundation at no charge, Do No Harm is fighting back. Its federal lawsuit challenges the Louisiana medical board’s race-based membership quota as violating the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection. Its victory would ensure that all candidates can compete equa...

George Sheetz just wanted a building permit. Instead he got stuck with a $23,420 "traffic impact fee." That's California for you.

Now the Supreme Court will hear George's case.

The government had George Sheetz ‘over a barrel.’ He took his case to the Supreme Court. When El Dorado County tried to tack an unconstitutional fee onto George Sheetz's building permit, he took the county to the Supreme Court.