Fischer v. United States — Amicus Brief

Jeremiah Morgan Constitutional Law, Statutory Construction, U. S. Supreme Court

Today, our firm filed an amicus brief on the merits opposing the Biden Justice Department’s use of the Sarbanes-Oxley anti-shredding statute against the January 6 defendants. The statute, which can be used to impose sentences of up to 20 years in prison, was passed in the wake of the Enron document shredding scandal, but is now being used by the Biden DOJ as a cudgel to obtain guilty pleas Read More

Fischer v. United States — Amicus Supporting Petition for Certiorari

Jeremiah Morgan Constitutional Law, U. S. Supreme Court

Today, our firm filed an amicus brief in support of a petition for certiorari filed by a January 6 defendant. Our brief argued that, since the government claimed the election protest on January 6 was an insurrection, it should have charged many defendants with that crime, but instead it charged no one with insurrection, preferring use of a Sarbanes-Oxley provision (which does not apply) to get a Read More

O’Handley v. Weber — Amicus Supporting Petition for Certiorari

Jeremiah Morgan Constitutional Law, U. S. Supreme Court

Today, our firm filed an amicus brief in support of a petition for certiorari in a challenge to California’s efforts to coerce social media companies to censor a user on Twitter. The petitioner had a tweet deleted and then his account suspended by Twitter, at the direction of California and its Office of Elections Cybersecurity. Our brief disputed California’s censorship of “false Read More

CFPB v. Townstone Financial — Amicus Brief

Jeremiah Morgan Constitutional Law, Statutory Construction, U. S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit

Today, our firm filed an amicus brief in defense of a Chicago-area mortgage company which had been sued by one of the most activist left-wing federal agencies in Washington — the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”). The mortgage company’s radio show criticized the prevalence of crime in Chicago and surrounding areas, causing the CFPB to accuse it of racial discrimination Read More

Missouri v. Biden — Amicus Brief

Jeremiah Morgan Constitutional Law, U. S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

Today, our firm filed an amicus brief in support of a challenge led by the states of Missouri and Louisiana. The challengers sought and received a preliminary injunction against certain members of the Biden Administration, prohibiting them from continuing to pressure social media companies to censor speech that they oppose. Our brief argued that the federal government has an improper view of its Read More

Blankenship v. NBCUniversal — Amicus supporting petition for certiorari

Jeremiah Morgan Constitutional Law, U. S. Supreme Court

Today, our firm filed an amicus brief in support of a petition for certiorari requesting that the Supreme Court reconsider New York Times v. Sullivan and its progeny. Our brief explained how Justice Brennan’s opinion in that case radically changed libel law by immunizing most libel against public figures. Brennan’s opinion was based neither on the First Amendment text nor a Read More

NRA v. Vullo — Amicus Supporting Petition for Certiorari

Jeremiah Morgan Constitutional Law, U. S. Supreme Court

Today, our firm filed an amicus brief in support of NRA’s Petition for Certiorari challenging New York’s Department of Financial Services (DFS) threats to banks and insurance companies doing business with the NRA because it is pro-gun. Our amicus brief explained that the Second Circuit, ruling in favor of New York, relied on a “reputational risk” justification that was once Read More

Ward v. Thompson — Amicus Supporting Stay of Jan 6 Committee Subpoena

Jeremiah Morgan Constitutional Law, U. S. Supreme Court

Today, our firm filed an amicus brief in support of an emergency application for stay of a subpoena for phone records issued by the House January 6 Committee. Our brief was filed on behalf of America’s Future, Free Speech Coalition, Free Speech Defense and Education Fund, U.S. Constitutional Rights Legal Defense Fund, and Conservative Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Link Read More

Feds for Medical Freedom v. Biden — Amicus brief on Rehearing En Banc

Jeremiah Morgan Constitutional Law, Executive Orders, Health Law, U. S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

Today, our firm file an amicus brief in the Fifth Circuit following its grant of a petition for rehearing en banc to reconsider President Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal employees. Our brief argued that the Civil Service Reform Act did not bar the lawsuit as the Fifth Circuit panel had previously ruled. Also, our brief argued that President Biden lacked the authority to issue Read More

Torcivia v. Suffolk County — Amicus Supporting Petition for Certiorari

Jeremiah Morgan Constitutional Law, Firearms Law, U. S. Supreme Court

Today our firm filed an amicus brief in support of a challenge to a Second Circuit decision which upheld an illegal search and seizure of firearms in his home by police after Petitioner was taken for a mental health examination. The police now assert that the “special needs exception” to the Fourth Amendment permitted the search and seizure.

Our brief urges the Supreme Court to grant Read More

303 Creative v. Elenis — Merits Amicus Brief

Jeremiah Morgan Constitutional Law, U. S. Supreme Court

Today, our firm filed an amicus brief on the merits in 303 Creative. We previously filed an amicus brief in support of the petition for certiorari. Our amicus brief argued that the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act empowers militant, homosexual activists to use the legal system to attack and destroy Christian business owners. Read More

McCoy v. University of Virginia Health System — Supplemental Memorandum

Jeremiah Morgan Circuit Court for the City of Charlottesville, Constitutional Law, Health Law, Litigation

Today, we filed a Supplemental Memorandum Regarding Governor Youngkin’s Executive Directive No. 2. The Supplemental Memorandum is in support of the Memorandum in Support of Injunctive Relief for Kaycee McCoy regarding the University of Virginia Health System’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Link to Supplemental Memorandum

Kaycee McCoy v. University of Virginia Health System — Memorandum in Support of Injunction

Jeremiah Morgan Circuit Court for the City of Charlottesville, Constitutional Law, Health Law, Litigation

Today, we filed a Memorandum in Support of Injunctive Relief for Kaycee McCoy (see complaint here). After a hearing on the request for a temporary injunction, the Circuit Court requested additional briefing on the temporary injunction factors.

The Memorandum argued that the freedom of religion recognized in Article I, Section 16 of the Virginia Constitution creates a jurisdictional barrier to the Read More

Kaycee McCoy v. University of Virginia Health System — Complaint filed

Jeremiah Morgan Circuit Court for the City of Charlottesville, Constitutional Law, Health Law, Litigation

Today, we filed a Complaint against the Rectors and Visitors of the University of Virginia and the University of Virginia Health System on behalf of a university employee who was refused her religious exemption to the University’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and was notified that she would be terminated. The Complaint as well as the accompanying Application for a Temporary Injunction claim that Read More

303 Creative v. Elenis

Jeremiah Morgan Constitutional Law, U. S. Supreme Court

Today, our firm filed an amicus curiae brief in support of a Petition for Certiorari filed by small business owner who provides website design services.  She would like to begin offering custom wedding websites, but the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (the same law used against Jack Phillips and Masterpiece Read More

County of Los Angeles, et al. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County (Grace Community Church and Pastor John MacArthur)

admin California Court of Appeal, Constitutional Law

Today we filed an amicus brief in a California appellate count in support of Pastor John MacArthur and Grace Community Church.  That Church began holding in-person, indoor services in late July despite a ban imposed on such services by Los Angeles County due to COVID-19.  The Church, inter alia, has asserted that the ban violates Article I, section 4 of the California Constitution Read More

Reply to Virginia’s Response in Opposition filed in Virginia Supreme Court on Virginia Governor Northam’s Gun Ban EO

admin Constitutional Law, Firearms Law, Litigation, Statutory Construction, Virginia Supreme Court

After we filed our Emergency Petition for Review last night, this morning at about 9:15 am, the Solicitor General of Virginia filed his Response in Opposition.  We filed our Reply to that Opposition about 1:00 pm.  The Virginia Supreme Court issued an Order denying our Petition for Review about 6:15 pm.

Emergency Petition for Review filed Against Virginia Governor Northam’s Gun Ban EO

admin Constitutional Law, Firearms Law, Litigation, Statutory Construction, Virginia Supreme Court

About 6:00 pm this evening, we filed in the Virginia Supreme Court an Emergency Petition for Review asking the Court to enjoin Governor Northam’s Executive Order banning firearms on the grounds of the Virginia Capitol, as unauthorized by law, in violation of law (Virginia Code section 44-146.15) , and unconstitutional.  (See next entry.)

Complaint & Application for Temporary Injunction Against Virginia Governor Northam’s Gun Ban EO

admin Circuit Court for the City of Richmond, Virginia, Constitutional Law, Firearms Law, Litigation, Statutory Construction

About noon on Wednesday, January 15, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency in Virginia and issued Executive Order 49,  which temporarily bans the possession or carrying of firearms in Richmond on Lobby Day (Monday, January 20).  Today, Thursday, January 16, about noon, on behalf of Gun Owners of America and Virginia Citizens Defense League, and three individuals, our firm filed a Complaint and Application in the the Circuit Court for the City of Richmond, seeking a temporary injunction against the Governor’s order.   In this case, we are working with David G. Browne, Esquire of Spiro and Browne,  in Richmond.  A hearing was held before Judge Joi Jeter Taylor from 1:30 to 2:30 pm.  Judge Taylor issued an Order denying our Application at 4:31 pm.  (This led to our filing an Emergency Petition for Review in the Virginia Supreme Court about 6:00 pm (see next entry).

Jewel v. NSA

admin Constitutional Law, U. S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Today our firm filed its second amicus brief in a challenge to the most sweeping Fourth Amendment violations ever committed by the U.S. government.  (Our last brief was filed over four years ago.)  This suit seeks to stop three different mass surveillance programs operated by the federal government — programs which have seized Internet (email, internet searches, etc.) and telephone communications Read More

Bostock v. Clayton County & Altitude Express v. Zarda

admin Statutory Construction, U. S. Supreme Court

Today we filed our third amicus brief in support of Altitude Express from a case brought by a homosexual skydiving instructor who was fired for speaking inappropriately at work about his sexual orientation. The Altitude Express case has been consolidated with a case from the Eleventh Circuit — Bostock. As in the Harris Funeral Case, we explain that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Ac does not apply to sexual orientation.

Link to brief

Johnson v. United States

admin Constitutional Law, Firearms Law, U. S. Supreme Court

Today we filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to re-examine its Terry v. Ohio, stop-and-frisk doctrine. Although Terry stop and frisks were limited to a search for weapons, in this case one was used to justify seizing a bullet. Since that decision in 1968, both Fourth and Second Amendment law has changed. The property basis of the Fourth Amendment has been re-established, and the Read More

Zodhiates v. United States

admin Constitutional Law, U. S. Supreme Court

Today we filed an amicus brief in support of a petition for certiorari challenging the government’s ability to track citizens through Cell Site Location Information (CSLI) obtained without a warrant. In this case, the trial court allowed the government to introduce 28 months of CSLI obtained by a prosecutor using a mere Grand Jury Subpoena. We argue that the Carpenter v. United States decision, Read More