Strict Construction of Federal Criminal Laws U.S. Supreme Court Amicus Brief Watson v. United States

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

On behalf of Gun Owners Foundation and the Conservative Legal Defense and Education Fund, we filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Watson v. United States.  This brief asks the Court to overturn the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and to re-establish the common law rule of strict construction of criminal statutes.  In this case, Read More

Free Speech Coalition Critique of House Efforts to Restrict Grassroots Lobbying

admin Constitutional Law, Nonprofit Law

With the House of Representatives soon to vote on the lobbying reform bill, the Campaign Legal Center has issued a memo arguing that grassroots restrictions are clearly constitutional under existing law.  We prepared this analysis for the Free Speech Coalition explaining why such restrictions are unconstitutional, and why the analysis of the Campaign Legal Center is flawed.

Link to analysis

Michael New v. Donald H. Rumsfeld — Reply Brief of Petitioner

admin Constitutional Law, U. S. Supreme Court

We filed in the United States Supreme Court a reply to the Government’s brief in opposition to former Army Specialist Michel G. New’s petition for review of his January 1995 court-martial conviction (for violation of an order requiring him to wear the United Nations uniform prescribed for deployment to a U.N. operation in Macedonia).

After we had filed the Petition for Certiorari in November Read More

Wisconsin Right to Life — Amicus Brief

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

Today we filed a Brief Amicus Curiae in the U.S. Supreme Court in the Wisconsin Right to Life case.  The brief asks the Court to reconsider its prior holdings in the McConnell and Buckley cases, and to strike down the Congressional ban on “electioneering communications.”  (We had previously filed an amicus brief in support of Wisconsin Right to Life when the case Read More

The Right of the People of Maryland to Keep and Bear Arms

admin Constitutional Law

Maryland Shall Issue, Inc. commissioned our firm to prepare an analysis of a 13-year-old Opinion of the Maryland Attorney General currently being used in the Maryland General Assembly to support SB 43, the so-called “assault weapons” ban.  Our analysis — “The Right of the People of Maryland to Keep and Bear Arms:  A Refutation of a 1994 Opinion of the Maryland Attorney Read More

Free Speech Coalition Constitutional Analysis of Restrictions on Grassroots Lobbying Contained in Section 220 of S.1

admin Constitutional Law

The Campaign Legal Center recently issued a memorandum concluding that pending Senate restrictions on grassroots lobbying in Senate Bill 1 were clearly constitutional under existing law.  We could not disagree more.  Working with Free Speech Coalition Legal Co-Counsel Mark Weinberg of Weinberg & Jacobs, LLP (http://wjlaw.com),we Read More

Michael G. New v. Donald H. Rumsfeld — SG ordered to file response

admin Constitutional Law

On December 21, 2006, William K. Suter, Clerk of the Supreme Court, wrote to the Solicitor General informing the General that, although his office had waived a right to respond to the Michael New’s petition for certiorari, the Court has directed the Clerk to request that the Solicitor General file a response to the petition on or before January 22, 2007. (This deadline was subsequently was Read More

Michael G. New v. Donald H. Rumsfeld — Petition for Certiorari

admin Constitutional Law, U. S. Supreme Court

Today, we filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, seeking review by the United States Supreme Court of the dismissal of Michael G. New’s collateral attack on his January 1996 court-martial.  (Former Army Specialist New was convicted of disobedience of an allegedly lawful order for failure to wear the United Nations uniform prescribed for his unit’s deployment as part of a U.N. commanded Read More

Gun Owners Foundation Amicus Brief in United States v. Stanko

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

Mr. Rudolph Stanko was convicted of possession of a firearm and ammunition in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(1), which prohibits any person from possessing a firearm or ammunition if that person has been convicted of certain types of crimes punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.  According to the statutory definition, the predicate crime cannot be any federal or state Read More

State of Wyoming v. BATF District Court Oral Argument

admin Appearances, Constitutional Law, U. S. District Court, State of Wyoming

On October 6, 2006, our attorneys had the opportunity to present oral argument in support of the Gun Owners Foundation amicus brief in Wyoming v. BATF.  At stake in this litigation before the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming is the statutory and constitutional right of the state of Wyoming to conduct its own criminal background check for purchasers of firearms in Wyoming.  Read More

State of Wyoming v. BATF Amicus Curiae Brief for Gun Owners Foundation in District Court

admin Constitutional Law, U. S. District Court, State of Wyoming

Today, our firm filed an amicus curiae brief for Gun Owners Foundation in the U.S. District Court for the State of Wyoming on behalf of the State of Wyoming, and the Wyoming Attorney General, Patrick J. Crank.

The brief was submitted in opposition to a BATF ruling that a Wyomingconcealed carry permit based on a Montana criminal background check is not sufficient to allow an FFL dealer to transfer Read More

Michael New Petition for Rehearing En Banc

admin Constitutional Law, U. S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit

Today, the legal team for Michael New filed a petition for rehearing en banc of New’s collateral attack on his court-martial conviction for disobedience of a “lawful” order.  In his petition, New documents the unmistakable fact that the three-judge panel decision — affirming the district court’s dismissal of his complaint that he was denied due process of law Read More

Religious Liberty Not to Have a Social Security Number (Idaho Court of Appeals)

admin Constitutional Law, Idaho Court of Appeals

On March 17, 2006, we filed a supplemental reply brief bringing to the attention of the Idaho Court of Appeals the United States Supreme Court’s opinion in Gonzales v. UDV, in which Chief Justice John Roberts — writing for a unanimous court — construed the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act to provide very favorable protection to individual liberty Read More

Michael New Oral Argument

admin Constitutional Law, U. S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit

On February 16 at 9:30AM, Herb Titus is scheduled for oral argument on behalf of Michael New before Circuit Judges Randolph and Garland and Senior Judge Williams, urging the appellate panel to reverse U.S. District Judge Friedman’s order dismissing Mr. New’s claim that he was unconstitutionally convicted of disobedience of a lawful order. Central to Mr. New’s constitutional claims Read More

Birthright Citizenship Study Re-Released: “Children Born in the United States to Aliens Should Not, by Constitutional Right, Be U.S. Citizens”

admin Constitutional Law, Publications

A legal analysis of Birthright Citizenship, written by Bill Olson, Herb Titus and Alan Woll, was re-released by U.S. Border Control today. The paper, “Children Born in the United States to Aliens Should Not, by Constitutional Right, Be U.S. Citizens” was originally published in January 2001,and then updated in March 2003. The House of Representatives is expected to be considering legislation Read More

Michael New Reply Brief

admin Constitutional Law, U. S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit

On November 23, 2005, Michael New’s legal team filed a hard-hitting reply brief to the United States government’s continuing attempt to avoid New’s claim that his 1996 court-martial conviction for disobedience of a “lawful” order was unconstitutional. For over 10 years now, the government has sought to dismiss New’s claim that a 1995 order to wear a U.N. uniform Read More

Citizens United, Citizens United Foundation, Amicus Brief in Wisconsin Right to Life Case

admin Constitutional Law, U. S. Supreme Court

Today we filed an Amicus Brief for Citizens United and Citizens United Foundation in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Wisconsin Right to Life v. FEC. The brief asks the Supreme Court to overturn a decision of a Special Three Judge District Court in the District of Columbia. The brief argues that the lower court misread the Supreme Court’s decision in McConnell v. FEC resolving a “facial” Read More

FSDEF Amicus Brief in United Seniors Association v. Social Security Administration

admin Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, U. S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit

We filed an Amicus Brief for the Free Speech Defense and Education Fund in support of United Seniors Association’s petition for rehearing of the decision to fine them over $500,000 for using the words “Social Security” on carrier envelopes. The FSDEF brief submits that the panel misapplied the deferential agency review standard of Chevron and failed to apply the relevant Read More

Michael New Initial Brief

admin Constitutional Law, U. S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit

We filed, on behalf of Michael New, an Initial Brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. This brief presents for decision whether the district court improperly dismissed — for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted — each of the four counts of New’s Second Amended Complaint, collaterally attacking his January 25, 1996 court-martial Read More

McCreary (Ten Commandments) U.S. Supreme Court Case Amicus Brief Filed

admin Constitutional Law, U. S. Supreme Court

Today we filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of :
Conservative Legal Defense and Education Fund,
Joyce Meyer Ministries,
Committee to Protect the Family Foundation,
Lincoln Institute for Research and Education,
American Heritage Party,
Public Advocate of the United States,
Radio Liberty, and
Spiritual Counterfeits Project, Read More