Allstates Refractory Contractors v. Walsh

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus curiae brief in Allstates Refractory Contractors LLC v. Walsh, et al., challenging the constitutionality of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970…

Alpine Securities Corporation v. FINRA

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is a nominally private non-profit corporation that regulates the securities brokerage industry subject to oversight by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. But it wields vast legislative, executive, and adjudicatory powers…

American Home Furnishings Alliance, et al. v. CPSC

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in American Home Furnishings Alliance, et al. v. CPSC, a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Manufacturers, importers, and retailers of clothing storage units (CSUs) are challenging a new Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) rule…

Borrello v. Hochul

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus curiae brief in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in George Borrello, et al. v. Kathleen Hochul, et al. New York State Senator George Borrello and New York State Assemblymen Christopher Tague and Michael Lawler have sued state and federal actors, including Governor Kathleen Hochul, for their role in promulgating 10 NYCRR § 2.13—a Rule which establishes isolation and quarantine procedures for those who are suspected of having a communicable disease…

CFPB v. CFSA

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau operates with an illegitimate funding method, outside of direct Congressional control. The New Civil Liberties Alliance filed an amicus curiae brief joined by The Buckeye Institute and the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research in the case…

Clarke v. CFTC

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – The PredictIt Market provides a platform for investors to trade contracts that predict the likely outcome of elections and other significant political events. In 2014, CFTC authorized the trading market’s establishment and assured its creators that the market could operate lawfully under the Commodities Exchange Act. Now, after millions of dollars and years of sweat equity have been invested to build and operate the market, CFTC pulled the rug out from under its operators and told them to shut everything down by the apparently arbitrary date of February 15, 2023—or else…

Community Housing Improvement Program,  v. City of New York

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA believes that the lower court erred when it declared that the New York Rent Stabilization Law (RSL) does not violate the due process rights of the Plaintiffs-Appellants related to their property, when in fact, it does. Plaintiffs-appellants, NCLA argues, have a fundamental right to their property under the U.S. Constitution, so the RSL should have been subjected to strict scrutiny.

Consumers’ Research; By Two, L.P. v. Consumer Product Safety Commission

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA is particularly disturbed by government officials not answerable to the President who are purportedly authorized by statute to usurp his Article II power to enforce the law. That usurpation is present here, where Congress has authorized the Commissioners of the Consumer Product Safety Commission to exercise executive powers, including the power to commence litigation. But CPSC Commissioners may not be removed at will by the President. Because they are not subject to his at-will removal, the Commission may not exercise the executive power.

Consumers’ Research v. FCC

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – The Federal Communications Commission administers the Universal Service Fund, which provides telecommunications services to rural and impoverished areas of the United States as well as to schools, libraries, and healthcare providers. However, in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress wrote an “evolving” and open-ended statute, leaving FCC to set its own policies and extract money from Americans to fund the…

Darby Development Company, Inc., et al. v. United States

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – In this case, dozens of rental property owners assert that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Eviction Moratorium effected either a compensable taking or an illegal exaction under the Fifth Amendment. NCLA argues that a dismissal of owners’ takings claims will encourage the government to take private property worth billions of dollars, for public use.

Greenberg v. Lehocky

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA opposes Pennsylvania officials’ attempt to revive a rule that would use overly vague language to govern objectionable speech by members of the legal profession. Pennsylvania’s Rule 8.4(g) exposes attorneys to discipline—including sanctions that deprive lawyers…

Harper v. Rettig

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA’s client Mr. Harper bought his first bitcoin in 2013, diligently paying all applicable taxes and reporting his trades related to bitcoin holdings. Throughout these years, all his transactions were facilitated through three digital virtual currency exchanges…

In re Bystolic Antitrust Litigation

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – In connection with its settlement of patent-infringement litigation, Forest Labs (the patent holder) had paid a substantial amount of cash to seven other drug companies (the alleged patent infringers). In subsequent litigation, the antitrust plaintiffs asserted that Forest’s large payments proved that Forest had paid the other companies in return for their agreement not to compete with the marketing of its patented blood-pressure medication (Bystolic) and thus had violated the antitrust laws…

Johnson v. Smith

Loper Bright v. Raimondo

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – Relentless Inc., Huntress Inc., and Seafreeze Fleet LLC, corporations operating in the herring fishery off the coast of New England, have filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Loper Bright Enterprises’ petition for a writ of certiorari in Loper Bright Enterprises, et al. v. Raimondo, et al…

McDonald v. Lawson; Couris v. Lawson

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in support of plaintiffs challenging a California law. Assembly Bill 2098 empowers the Medical Board of California to discipline physicians who “disseminate” information regarding Covid-19 that departs from the “contemporary scientific consensus.” 

SEC v. Murphy

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced record-breaking enforcement results, boasting a staggering $4.2 billion in civil penalties imposed during just the past fiscal year—the agency’s “highest on record.” It did so by using putatively “civil” law enforcement powers to seek and impose severe financial penalties—calculated using arbitrary and inconsistent multipliers—against American citizens without due process and procedural protections…

Tesla, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in support of Tesla, Inc.’s lawsuit against NLRB. Tesla Inc. v. NLRB challenges the Board’s March 2021 ruling that Tesla violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and further that the electric vehicle manufacturer would be required to “direct Musk to delete [his] unlawful tweet.”

U.S. v. Vargas

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in United States v. Vargas, urging the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to decide that Stinson deference should not be applied when it results in a more severe criminal sentence…

Window Covering Manufacturers Association v. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus curiae brief in Window Covering Manufacturers Association v. CPSC, a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The Window Covering Manufacturers Association (WCMA) is challenging a new Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) rule governing the length of cords for custom-made blinds…

Adir International v. Starr Indemnity and Liability Company

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA and Cato’s principal interest participating in this litigation is to vindicate Petitioner Adir International’s due process rights and the rights of any individual or entity defendant whose business actions have been or might be chilled because its insurance coverage can be turned off at will by California enforcers…

Aguila v. Ducey

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – “Police Power” in the hands of the governor does not include the power to legislate, argues the amicus brief filed today by the New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, in the Arizona Supreme Court. 

American Honda Motor Co. v. Walther

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA asks the Arkansas Supreme Court to stop judges in the state from giving “great deference” to the Department of Finance and Administration in a post-2009 Arkansas tax procedure case…

American Hospital Association v. Becerra

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA argues that the D.C. Circuit improperly applied Chevron deference to HHS’s interpretation of a statute that allowed the agency to set reimbursement rates for the plaintiffs, a group of hospitals that participate in the Section 340B Drug Pricing Program.

American Institute for International Steel Inc. v. U.S.

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the American Institute for International Steel, Inc. AIIS has filed a petition seeking a Writ of Certiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court in American Inst. for International Steel, Inc. v. U.S., claiming that a tariff law improperly divests legislative power…

Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – The question presented in this case is whether the holding of NAACP v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson will be applied to modern state attorneys-general who compel disclosure of supporter lists of unpopular organizations without articulating a substantial state interest in obtaining the information…

AMG Capital Management v. FTC; FTC v. Credit Bureau Center

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court admonishing the FTC for its unlawful practice in applying the agency’s statutory provisions. FTC has transformed its limited statutory right to enjoin into an absolute right to secure any “equitable remedy.”

Apartment Association of Los Angeles County v. City of Los Angeles

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA finds disturbing the recent trend, epitomized by this case, of lower courts deferring to states and cities in their flimsy justifications for substantially impairing landlord-tenant contractual obligations. The Supreme Court’s immediate intervention is required to rescue the Contracts Clause of the U.S. Constitution from oblivion.

Axon Enterprise v. FTC

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in support of Axon Enterprise Inc. in the body camera company’s fight to keep its constitutional claims against the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in federal court…

Beshear v. Goodwood Brewing Company

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – The amici curiae, NCLA, the Southeastern Legal Foundation, and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, argue that the Kentucky Constitution denies the governor dictatorial power. To ensure such power does not develop in any branch, the Kentucky Constitution separates government power and vests the legislature with law-making authority, which the legislature can always reclaim once delegated.

BST Holdings v. Occupational Safety and Health Administration

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – OSHA’s ETS is expected to force 84 million employees nationwide—over half the U.S. workforce—to either take a novel vaccine against an infectious disease, navigate weekly costly testing, or forfeit their jobs. Nothing in the Occupational Safety and Health Act, however, suggests that OSHA has authority to issue…

Buffington v. McDonough

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – Mr. Buffington, who suffered service-connected disability (tinnitus) while serving for the U.S. Air Force, is seeking disability benefits in a lawsuit against V.A. The law is clear that when one asks for resumption of disability payments to which one is entitled, the resumption should begin as of the date one leaves active service.

Calcutt v. FDIC

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – Congress has long protected federal agency Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) from removal, thus depriving Americans of their constitutional freedom to live under a government in which executive power is accountable to them through the President. NCLA filed an amicus curiae brief in a case addressing whether certain Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) officers, including the agency’s ALJs, are protected by multiple layers of tenure protection in violation of the “Take Care” clause of the Constitution…

Campaign Legal Center v. Federal Election Commission

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Campaign Legal Center v. Federal Election Commission. The Campaign Legal Center alleges the Federal Election Commission has taken no action on an administrative complaint CLC filed and that FEC’s “failure to act” is “contrary to law.” 

Carr v. Saul; Davis v. Saul

AMICI BRIEF SUMMARY – The case concerns whether claimants seeking disability benefits under the Social Security Act must “exhaust” constitutional challenges to their benefits determinations before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) at the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) in order…

Children’s Hospital Association of Texas v. Azar

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a group of children’s hospitals from around the country. NCLA believes the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals erred in reversing the district court’s decision in this case, which had struck down a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) formula for hospital payments that violates the statute.

Cleveland County v. Conner

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA is particularly disturbed by the Fourth Circuit’s decision to grant “considerable deference” to the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) non-binding interpretation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) without undertaking the basic step of determining whether that interpretation is consistent with the statutory language.

Collins v. Yellen

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court taking aim at the unconstitutional structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). NCLA asks that the Court to (1) set aside the final agency action FHFA took against Petitioners while it was unconstitutionally structured and (2) grant them meaningful relief…

Dr. A v. Hochul

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief encouraging the U.S. Supreme Court to grant review and hold that New York’s administrative Covid-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers denies the free exercise of religion to the Petitioners by allowing secular exemptions while denying religious ones. New York’s policy is inherently unequal, prejudiced, and violative of the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

Elkhorn Baptist Church v. Brown

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in the Oregon Supreme Court in Elkhorn Baptist Church, et al. v. Katherine Brown. A broad coalition of local churches brought the case after being seriously disturbed by Governor Katherine Brown’s restrictions on religious gatherings since late March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

FEC v. Ted Cruz for Senate

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is urging the Supreme Court to adopt a new, heightened standard for establishing that an injury is “fairly traceable” to complained‑of conduct, a showing required of all plaintiffs in order to establish their standing to sue. Adopting FEC’s theory of standing would significantly restrict judicial challenges to all kinds of unlawful federal government action.

Feds for Medical Freedom v. Biden

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – To grant such a vast and uncabined power over the health decisions of federal employees to the agencies on such vague language implicates the non-delegation doctrine and major questions doctrine and the Court should not readily read such immense power into the law. Deference to administrative agencies is particularly unwarranted in the Covid-19 context as the assertions of the agencies have so often been contrary to facts and reason.

Fleming v. USDA

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – In this case, NCLA takes issue with the United States Department of Agriculture’s (“USDA”) use of Administrative Law Judges (“ALJs”) who violate Article II and the separation of powers…

Francis v. Kings Park Manor

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Donahue Francis v. Kings Park Manor, Inc., et al., on rehearing en banc. NCLA’s brief, which supports neither party, asks the bench to eschew Chevron deference in its decision, respect the rule of lenity, observe the principle of party presentation, and avoid the appearance of bias in this case.

FTC v. Walmart

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY –  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lacks constitutional authority to bring a lawsuit for monetary damages and injunctive relief against Walmart Inc., argues NCLA in an amicus curiae brief submitted in the case FTC v. Walmart…

Fulton v. City of Philadelphia

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of the United States in Sharonell Fulton, et al. v. City of Philadelphia, et al. In 2018, Philadelphia abruptly terminated foster placement through Catholic Social Services (CSS) leaving foster parents like Sharonell Fulton, who has fostered more than 40 children…

Goldwater Institute v. HHS

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – The Constitution requires federal judges to exercise independent judgment and refrain from bias when interpreting the law. These are foundational constitutional requirements for having an independent judiciary. Article III gives federal judges life tenure and salary protection to ensure…

Guedes v. ATF

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – Chevron deference is bad enough on its own, for it unconstitutionally requires judges to abandon their independent judgement and, where the government is a party, requires them to engage in systematic bias in favor of the most powerful of parties. But the D.C. Circuit’s decision expands Chevron deference…

Gundy v. U.S.

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – The judgment of the court of appeals should be reversed for four separate and independent reasons. First, 34 U.S.C. § 20913(d) violates the Constitution by divesting Congress of legislative powers and transferring those powers to the Attorney General…

Gun Owners of America v. Garland

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – Amici write separately to focus on an independent reason why Chevron is inapplicable: the government’s interpretations of criminal statutes are not entitled to deference. When construed without placing a thumb on the scale in favor of either party, § 5845(b) does not include non-mechanical bump stocks within the definition of machine guns.

Haaland v. Brackeen

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – This case is particularly important to NCLA. It is disappointed that three judges on the Fifth Circuit would eschew their fundamental duty “to say what the law is” and defer to agency interpretations of statutes under the Chevron doctrine…

Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – This case will address what Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 means by prohibiting employment discrimination “because … of sex.” Specifically, the Supreme Court will answer whether that language encompasses discrimination because of sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or transgender status. However the Court decides…

 Jane Doe v. White

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – As part of its efforts to enforce Title IX, the U.S. Department of Education has routinely pressured schools to deny due process to the accused in sexual-misconduct investigations. NCLA filed an amicus brief in support of Jane Doe’s petition for a writ of certiorari before the U.S. Supreme Court in her case against the California State University system and various Title IX administrators.

Jarkesy v. SEC

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to review whether Mr. Jarkesy was adjudicated by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) who was improperly insulated from removal. Mr. Jarkesy was also denied his jury trial rights and equal protection of the law, among other problems.

Jessop v. City of Fresno

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – In this case, NCLA is particularly disturbed that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has willfully opted out of deciding a matter as simple—but gravely consequential— as whether it is unconstitutional for a police officer to use the cover of a search warrant to steal from a suspect. By choosing not to decide the issue, the panel granted immunity…

The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center v. FDA; Aponte v. FDA

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed this amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit supporting a challenge to a Final Rule issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Rule bans “electrical stimulation devices” (ESDs) for aversion therapy, currently in use in only one treatment facility in the United States—the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Canton, Massachusetts.

Kemp v. U.S.

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – When the Supreme Court adopted the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in the 1930s, it provided that Rule 60 should be available to correct judicial errors of law. The Court granted cert in Kemp because it presents an ideal opportunity to remedy a decades-long split that has divided courts of appeals over how Rule 60(b) applies to “legal error.”

Kisor v. Wilkie

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – The Constitution requires federal judges to exercise independent judgment and refrain from bias when interpreting the law. These are foundational constitutional requirements for an independent judiciary. Article III gives federal judges life tenure and salary protection to ensure that judicial pronouncements…

Lent v. California Coastal Commission

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – The case is the first to challenge a CCC’s penalty order issued under the recently enacted section 30821. The Commission seeks deference to its interpretation that sections 30820 and 30821 permit consideration of deterrence in its administrative civil penalty determination.

Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA states that in adopting the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Pub. L. 111-148 (2010), Congress improperly delegated to the administrative state the power to write laws governing the conduct of health insurance providers. Administrative agencies responded

Liu v. SEC

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – It is undisputed that the “disgorgement” remedy appears nowhere in the SEC’s enabling statutes. History reveals that the disgorgement remedy was created and expanded by an strategic enforcement and litigation process allowing SEC to arrogate to itself powers not granted by Congress. This process built…

Lovato v. U.S.

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in U.S. v. Daniel Lovato, urging the federal court to re-examine the circuit’s treatment of “Stinson Deference.” The case presents an opportunity for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to join…

Monex Deposit Company v. Commodity Futures Trading Commission

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in support of the petitioners’ request for a Writ of Certiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court in Monex Deposit Company, et al. v. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In this case, CFTC is testing the furthest reaches

Oracle America Inc. v. U.S. Department of Labor

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in support of Oracle’s case against the Department of Labor (DOL). Oracle has challenged a portion of the regulations that set up the enforcement and adjudication system in the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).

Premier Healthcare Investments v. UHS of Anchor

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of Georgia in the case of Premier Healthcare Investments, L.L.C. v. UHS of Anchor, L.P. NCLA submitted a neutral brief in support of neither party that solely focuses on the constitutional arguments for rejecting judicial deference…

Seila Law v. CFPB

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – The precedent of this Court does not compel an outcome for either side. Although decisions such as Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, 295 U.S. 602 (1935), and Morrison v. Olson, 487 U.S. 654 (1988), approved statutes that insulate administrative officers from presidential removal, each of those rulings…

Skyworks v. CDC

State of Kentucky and State of Tennessee v. Yellen

State of Nebraska v. Biden

State of Ohio v. United States Department of the Treasury

State of West Virginia v. Department of the Treasury

Sun City Home Owners Association v. Arizona Corporation Commission

State of Texas v. Yellen

Tiger Lily v. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – In a joint amicus brief filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, NCLA condemned an eviction moratorium order imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last month to purportedly prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Torcivia v. Suffolk County

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a petition for certiorari urging the high court to resolve a circuit court split regarding whether and when a “special-needs exception” to the Fourth Amendment justifies home entry and seizure by the government without a warrant.

TWISM Enterprises v. State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA argues that the Hamilton County Court of Appeals erred by deferring to the Ohio Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Surveyors’ “reasonable interpretation” of what the court characterized as “ambiguous statutes and administrative rules.”

U.S. Department of Education v. Brown

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court supporting two cases challenging the Biden Administration’s unlawful student loan debt cancellation plan. Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown contested the government’s invocation of the HEROES Act to rewrite statutory provisions and cancel some half a trillion dollars owed to the Treasury, which violated both the Vesting and Appropriations Clauses of Article I of the Constitution…

U.S. v. Arthrex Inc.; U.S. v. Polaris Innovations; Smith & Nephew Inc. v. Arthrex Inc. 

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – ​At issue in the consolidated set of cases is whether administrative patent judges (APJs) can be appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce or whether the Constitution requires the President to appoint these judges and the Senate to confirm them.

U.S. v. Havis

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – Jeffery Havis was sentenced to federal prison in reliance on a provision of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual that was passed without required Congressional approval…

U.S. v. Moses

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – This Court’s correct decision in U.S. v. Campbell conflicts directly with the panel’s decision in this case, as Judge King acknowledged in dissent. Creating an intra-circuit split, the panel also split from the Third and Sixth Circuits, which have correctly recognized that Kisor v. Wilkie necessarily limited deference to genuinely ambiguous rules and regulations in all applications of Bowles v. Seminole Rock & Sand Co.

U.S. v. Nasir

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in U.S. v. Malik Nasir, urging the federal court to re-examine the circuit’s treatment of “Stinson Deference.” The case presents an opportunity for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to join…

U.S. v. Tabb

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in U.S. v. Zimmian Tabb, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to abandon “Stinson Deference.” This judicial deference doctrine requires federal judges to defer to commentary the United States Sentencing Commission (U.S.S.C.) has written interpreting the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines (U.S.S.G.).

​West Virginia v. EPA

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA argues that the judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit should be reversed. The Constitution vests all legislative power in Congress. This means that national policy decisions are to be made by Congress, not by administrative agencies.

Williams Alaska Petroleum v. State of Alaska

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA is asking the court not to defer to a legal interpretation made by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Instead, NCLA argues that Alaskan courts need to interpret the law without deferring to the agency’s interpretation.  

Wolf v. Scarnati

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA’s brief argues that the Governor’s argument is flawed. “The concurrence of both houses” is not “necessary” for a termination of disaster emergency under § 7301(c) of the Emergency Management Services Code, which authorizes the Governor to declare or proclaim a disaster emergency…

Wynn v. U.S.

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in Jayren Wynn v. United States of America, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to grant Mr. Wynn’s petition for certiorari and either discard Stinson deference altogether or at least rule that Stinson deference cannot increase criminal sentences. This judicial-deference doctrine requires federal judges to defer to commentary the U.S. Sentencing Commission has written interpreting the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

Young v. State of Hawaii

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in George K. Young, Jr. v. State of Hawaii, et al. in support of Mr. Young. NCLA’s brief dissuades the full court from deferring to state administrators’ factual speculations and to their interpretations of the U.S. Constitution or of state statutes and regulations.

YU Pride Alliance v. Yeshiva University

AMICUS BRIEF SUMMARY – NCLA filed an amicus brief in support of Yeshiva University’s Supreme Court application seeking an emergency stay pending appeal of a court order to “immediately” approve an official “Pride Alliance” student club. NCLA argues that the constitutional harms stemming from the injunction were substantial and could continue possibly for years while the case reaches absolute finality. The denial of one’s First Amendment rights, even for short periods, constitutes irreparable harm and necessitates correction by the courts.