Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Scardina
They Won't Leave Jack Alone
Jack Phillips, like every creative professional, has the right to decline to use his artistic abilities to express messages he disagrees with.
Cases
Soule v. Connecticut Association of Schools
Ideology Threatens Equality
MSLF is committed to the plain text reading of Title IX that respects the drafters’ original intentions. We stand with our friends in liberty at ADF.
Texas v. Garland
The Constitution Governs in Crisis
The Constitution must be followed especially during crises—there would be no point in a supreme law if the legislature could ignore it when things get tough.
Tennessee v. US Department of Education
When Equality Compels Speech
MSLF is offering an amicus brief to show that the Dept. of Education’s new interpretation of Title IX is nothing more than compelled speech in disguise.
Klein v. Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries
Art is Speech, Even if Edible
Melissa and Aaron Klein are practitioners of the American Dream. In 2007, they opened a bakery called “Sweet Cakes by Melissa” in Gresham, Oregon. The shop was a staple in…
Knipp and Seis v. Tri-County Health Dept.
It's Time to End Unrestricted Pandemic Bureaucracy
We all remember when the pandemic first struck how municipal public health officials across the country echoed Dr. Anthony Fauci—if we all stay home, wear masks, and social distance for…
US v. Idaho
The Rule of Law Applies to All, Even the Federal Government
Everyone should play by the same rules. That’s the basic idea of fairness most Americans understand. When it befits them, the federal government loves to hold people accountable to its…
VanDerStok v. Garland
The ATF's Unlawful Redefinition of Your Rights
This Final Rule, addressing the “Definition of ‘Frame or Receiver’ and Identification of Firearms,” alters the legal landscape surrounding firearms regulation, giving complete discretionary power to the ATF and its Director to decide what the ATF can regulate and how. The ATF is usurping Congress’s legislative power and is wielding the regulation to severely burden the practice of self-manufacture and the businesses that facilitate it.
Sullivan v. Ferguson
Individual Rights v. Overreaching State Power
Case Summary In an infringement of peaceable Americans’ right to choose the arms they see fit to defend themselves, their loved ones, and their communities, the State of Washington has…
Vlaming v. West Point School Board
Preferred Name... Not Enough for Title IX
Case Summary Peter Vlaming taught French at a public high school for years before he was fired over the issue of a student’s pronouns and over the walkout protests of…
San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council, et al. v. Dan Dallas, et al.
My Only Means to See the National Forest
Case Summary Public lands should be for public use, right? According to environmentalists, that’s wrong. For many disabled Americans, including many veterans like the Trail Preservation Alliance’s Don Riggle,…
Michael Sackett v. EPA
Is a Wetland Wet? No, Says EPA. Yes, Says MSLF.
Case Summary Michael and Chantell Sackett own an undeveloped lot near Priest Lake in Bonner County, Idaho. The north and south sides of the property are bounded by roads, and…
Emilee Carpenter Photography v. James
Progressive Orthodoxy vs. Free Speech
Case Summary Emilee Carpenter is a professional photographer, based in New York, who has been photographing weddings since 2012. In 2019 she took a leap of faith and opened her…
Kennedy v. Bremerton School District
Penalty for Praying Coach Sidelines Religious Liberty
— Coach Joseph Kennedy is a former U.S. Marine who coached football at Bremerton High School, in Bremerton, Washington, until 2015, when he was suspended from his job by the school district for defying an order to not public engage in a post-game prayer. Now, after a series of court setbacks, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to rule on whether Kennedy’s religious liberties were trampled when the district first forbid him from praying with his players, and then ordered him to pray in secret. At issue in this case is whether public employees can be legally prohibited from private and personal displays of religious faith on “Establishment Clause” grounds.
West Virginia v. EPA
Pumping The Brakes On Rogue Presidents
In the American constitutional order, Congress makes laws. The President and federal agencies are tasked with executing, enforcing and sometimes interpreting those laws, in cases where Congress used ambiguous language. But how much latitude and discretion does the executive branch have when it comes to the interpretative part of its mission, if the text of the law isn’t clear? On that question a lot depends, given the vast regulatory power the modern administrative state wields like a hammer.
Dominic Bianchi v. Brian Frosh
Maryland's Rifle Ban Needs Supreme Court Review
Playing on popular misconceptions and fears, the State of Maryland bans what it deems “assault weapons”—a non-technical public relations term, used to demonize commonly owned and constitutionally protected firearms. A group of plaintiffs have sued Maryland’s attorney general, challenging this unconstitutional ban and seeking a full restoration of their natural right to self-defense—now they’re asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case.
Josh Young v. Colorado Department of Corrections, et al.
Fighting the Bigotry of DEI Training
Former Colorado Corrections Sergeant Josh Young is suing the Centennial State over divisive and bigoted “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” training that created a hostile and discriminatory workplace, further ratcheted-up racial tensions in the prison, and recklessly undermined the morale, cohesiveness and safety of the facility’s guard force and inmate population.
Roger Borgelt v. City of Austin
Flawed Ruling Means Taxpayers Get Hosed
Case Summary Firefighter unions in Austin, Texas, have negotiated terms in their labor contract that allow union representatives on the force to conduct private union business, including politicking and lobbying,…
Ideker Farms, LLC v. United States
Uncle Sam Must Pay For A Farmland Bait And Switch
This case raises the question of how property owners and businesses along the Missouri River should be compensated in response to government-caused flooding that destroyed crops, devalued their farmland and damaged their businesses. One Court already has ruled that they’re the victims of a government-caused taking. But Washington continues to resist paying the damaged parties just compensation for the harm that Washington did.
Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, et al.
It's Time To Stop Rigging College Admissions
While it may seem obvious that scholastic achievements should be merit-based rather than race-based, that isn’t true at numerous American colleges and universities. Schools of higher education have for too long been permitted to legally discriminate against qualified student applicants in order to benefit less-qualified applicants of favored racial or ethnic groups.
Fouts v. Bonta
"Presumably Constitutional" Isn't Good Enough
Case Summary Americans have a natural, constitutionally protected right to choose the self-defense tools they deem necessary, whether that’s a firearm or some other form of weaponry. “Arms,” as in “to…
Lent v. California Coastal Commission
California Scheming: Cali's Coastal Komissars Are Out Of Control
Case Summary Beachfront property along California’s gorgeous Pacific coast must be among the most coveted acreage in the world. But Hollywood stars, tech moguls, and golf course developers aren’t alone…
Marez, et al. v. Polis, et al.
Sweeping Ban on American Indian Icons Draws Constitutional Challenge
Those who wrote the law believed good intentions gave them a pass on thinking these matters through more carefully — a misjudgment that laid the predicate for the legal challenge we bring today.
303 Creative v. Aubrey Elenis, et al
Activists Attack Christian Business Owner
The State of Colorado is trying to force a Christian web designer to create a website that celebrates same-sex marriage, even thought that message violates her religious convictions.