July 2024

Your support for NCLA keeps the fight for liberty alive! This month, NCLA scored a major amicus win in Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors, with the Supreme Court ruling 6-3 in favor of challenging a Federal Reserve regulation. We called on the Eighth Circuit to uphold Americans’ right to seek damages against cross-deputized law enforcement officers who violate constitutional rights. Additionally, we urged SCOTUS to restore presidential control over “independent” CPSC commissioners.

We also petitioned the en banc U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to stop the Department of Education’s illegal erasure of $39 billion in student loan debt, witnessed the overturning of David Lesh’s wrongful conviction for a simple Instagram post, and demanded the CPSC and Commissioner Trumka retract misleading statements about Dreamland Baby Co.’s products.

Thank you for being a part of the New Civil Liberties Alliance and for your support. Keep scrolling to learn about these cases and everything else happening at NCLA. Don’t forget to click the link below to provide our attorneys with the resources they need to keep winning!

The Latest

The Supreme Court’s decision ensures defendants can now demand a jury trial before facing SEC penalties.

Lunch and Law: SCOTUS Restores the 7th Amendment Right to a Jury Trial

SEC v. Jarkesy is one of the biggest SCOTUS cases of this term. The Wall Street Journal called it “a blow to regulators that could have ripple effects across the U.S. government.” This decision revives one of the most important liberty protections in the Bill of Rights: the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial, with its logic applying to all federal agency proceedings, not just those at the SEC. The opinion is a historic declaration of independence from decades of encroachments by the Administrative State. Learn more about this historic win in our latest Lunch and Law series. Watch here >>>

This decision reins in unimpeded regulatory power from the Administrative State that has degraded a free society and threatened liberty.

Lunch and Law: After Chevron: What’s Next with Loper Bright/Relentless Ending Deference?

The Relentless and Loper Bright cases have triumphed, bringing an end to the 40-year reign of judicial deference. The Wall Street Journal has described Chevron as “arguably the most significant decision of the year.” This monumental ruling heralds a new era, freeing judges from the necessity of accepting agency interpretations of the law and thereby restoring due process and judicial independence. What lies ahead? Discover the future post-Chevron and the impact of these groundbreaking cases in our recent Lunch and Law series. Watch here >>>

Cases to Watch

The Department of Education’s decree violates the Constitution’s Appropriations Clause, which grants Congress exclusive authority to expend taxpayer funds to pay for debt cancellation.

NCLA Asks en Banc Sixth Circuit to Stop Unlawful Biden Scheme to Cancel Student Loan Debt

NCLA petitioned the en banc U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to hear the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Cato Institute v. Cardona case for halting the Department of Education’s illegal erasure of $39 billion of student loan debt and counting. The Department’s scheme has already begun wiping out debt that borrowers owe under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) programs, by crediting non-payments during periods of forbearance as monthly payments via a “One-Time Account Adjustment.” On behalf of the Mackinac Center and the Cato Institute, NCLA calls on the en banc Court to stop this plot that disregards federal law, the Constitution, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Read more >>>

A federal magistrate judge had convicted Mr. Lesh of violating one regulation prohibiting operating a snowmobile outside of a designated route and another banning unauthorized “work activity or service” on USFS lands.

Tenth Circuit Overturns NCLA Client’s Wrongful Conviction Under USFS Regulation for Instagram Post

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit overturned NCLA client David Lesh’s criminal conviction for allegedly violating a regulation promulgated by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The Court ruled that the USFS regulation banning unauthorized “work activity or service” on USFS lands is impermissibly vague as applied to his conduct. This means Mr. Lesh could not have known that taking photos on USFS land and posting them to his personal Instagram account would be punishable under the regulation. The Tenth Circuit, under binding Supreme Court precedent, determined that Mr. Lesh was not deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial because the so-called petty offense exception applies, but two judges implied that the exception might be inconsistent with the Constitution and should be revisited. NCLA is actively looking into file a cert petition. Read more >>>

CPSC is supposed to study safety questions and obtain supporting data before acting. Instead, without taking such mandatory steps, it told Americans not to use infant weighted sleep products.

NCLA Demands CPSC and Trumka Rescind False Statements Disparaging Weighted Sleep Sacks

NCLA has sent a formal letter asking the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to retract inaccurate and misleading statements by the agency and Commissioner Richard Trumka, which reflect adversely on our client Dreamland Baby Co.’s weighted sleep swaddles and blankets. This letter is a first step in vindicating our clients’ interest in forcing CPSC to follow the law. Read more >>>

Click here for more cases to watch

Friends of the Court

The Justices ruled that the APA entitles Corner Post to adequate and meaningful judicial review of the rule in court.

In NCLA Amicus Win, Supreme Court Upholds Small Business’s Right to Judicial Review

The U.S. Supreme Court revived Corner Post’s lawsuit challenging a Federal Reserve regulation, ruling 6-3 that the six-year limit on challenging the rule had not yet expired for the North Dakota convenience store and truck stop when it filed suit. Corner Post did not exist until 2018, more than six years after the 2011 rule issued, and it filed suit just over three years after opening for business. NCLA filed an amicus curiae brief in Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors, urging the Court to treat the Administrative Procedure Act’s (APA) six-year time bar on agency action as only beginning when the plaintiff is injured. Read more>>>

This en banc ruling reverses a Fifth Circuit panel decision that wrongly upheld the statute giving FCC this power.

In NCLA Amicus Win, Fifth Circuit Rules Against FCC’s Unlawful Control of Universal Service Fund

The en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in Consumers’ Research v. Federal Communications Commission that Congress unconstitutionally delegated legislative power by allowing FCC to create and control a system for extracting Americans’ money to finance the Universal Service Fund (USF). NCLA filed an amicus curiae brief calling for this result, identifying core legal problems with that illegitimate arrangement. NCLA applauds the Fifth Circuit for taking a positive step toward restoring proper constitutional order. Read more >>>

The Eighth Circuit must reverse the district court’s nonsensical ruling and allow Ms. Mohamud to proceed with her action for damages under § 1983.

NCLA Asks Eighth Circuit to Reject Blanket Immunity for Federally Cross-Deputized State Police Officer

NCLA filed an amicus curiae brief in Mohamud v. Weyker before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. NCLA urges the Court to rule that Americans maintain the right to pursue damages against state or local law enforcement officers who violate their constitutional rights—even when those officers were federally cross-deputized at the time of the rights violations. Cross-deputized officers have limited federal authority to fulfill specific duties on joint federal-state task forces, while maintaining the full authority of their state or local positions. But in an alarming trend, many courts across the country—including the district court in this case—have effectively immunized cross-deputized officers, ruling that such officers, who operate under both state and federal law, cannot be held liable for damages under either. NCLA asks the Eighth Circuit to break with this dangerous practice and permit plaintiffs to hold cross-deputized state and local officers accountable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for constitutional violations committed under color of state law. Read more >>>

The Department’s scheme is arbitrary and capricious, as it was promulgated without addressing comments about the massive amount of debt it attempts to cancel.

NCLA Asks Supreme Court to Block Education Dept.’s Latest Illegal Scheme to Cancel Student Loan Debt

NCLA filed an amicus curiae brief in Alaska, South Carolina, and Texas v. Dept. of Education, urging the Supreme Court to restore a preliminary injunction against the Department’s illegal “SAVE” plan for transferring $475 billion in student loan debt to taxpayers. The Department’s scheme rewrites the 1993 amendments to the Higher Education Act (HEA), transforming loan-repayment plans that Congress authorized into loan-cancellation plans that Congress did not authorize. In an unreasoned decision, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit stayed the district court’s injunction blocking the Department’s new plan. Partnering with the Cato Institute, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, and Defense of Freedom Institute as amici curiae, NCLA calls for a halt to this unconstitutional Executive Branch attempt to wield legislative power. Read more >>>

Humphrey’s must be overruled or confined to its facts.

NCLA Asks Supreme Court to Restore Presidential Control over “Independent” CPSC Commissioners

NCLA filed an amicus curiae brief urging the Supreme Court to hear Consumers’ Research v. Consumer Product Safety Commission, taking this golden opportunity to overturn the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor v. Federal Trade Commission decision and revamp CPSC’s unconstitutional structure. Under current law, the President supposedly is only allowed to fire CPSC commissioners “for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office,” which insulates them from removal in violation of the “take Care” clause of Article II of the Constitution. To approve CPSC’s structure, the Fifth Circuit below invoked Humphrey’s Executor, which upheld the constitutionality of FTC Commissioners’ similar tenure protections on the flawed theory that the Federal Trade Commission does not exercise executive power. Read more >>>

Congress enacted the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, part of which sought to lower Medicare drug costs. Instead of achieving this important goal lawfully, it chose an approach that cannot be reconciled with our Constitution.

NCLA Asks Third Circuit to Rule Against HHS’s Coercive Medicare Drug Price ‘Negotiation’ Program

NCLA filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Bristol Myers Squibb Company v. Becerra. NCLA urges the Third Circuit to rule it is unlawful for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to hold a company’s business hostage until it surrenders its constitutional property rights. NCLA’s brief explains how the law at issue violates the “unconstitutional conditions” doctrine, which prevents the indirect trampling of constitutional rights. Read more >>>

The district court preliminarily enjoined part of SAVE because the States of Alaska, South Carolina, and Texas are likely to prevail in their claim that the plan exceeds the Secretary of Education’s authority under the 1993 HEA amendments.

NCLA Asks Tenth Circuit to Stop Education Dept.’s Latest Illegal Scheme to Cancel Student Loan Debt

In addition to the Supreme Court brief, NCLA filed an amicus curiae brief in Alaska, South Carolina, and Texas v. Dept. of Education with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. NCLA urges the Court to affirm and order the expansion of a preliminary injunction stopping the Department’s “SAVE” plan, which rewrites the 1993 amendments to the Higher Education Act (HEA) to transform student-loan-repayment plans Congress authorized into loan-cancellation plans Congress did not authorize at a $475 billion cost to taxpayers. Partnering with the Cato Institute and Mackinac Center for Public Policy as amici curiae, NCLA calls for halting the entirety of this unconstitutional Executive Branch attempt to wield legislative power. Read more >>>

Click here for more amicus briefs to watch.

In the News

🎥 How Landmark SCOTUS Ruling on Chevron Deference Curbs Federal Agency Power: Philip Hamburger, American Thought Leaders

🎥 Philip Hamburger on the Threats of the Administrative State, The Future of Liberty

📰 The Supreme Court Just Opened The Door To A New Orwellian Censorship Regime, Daily Caller

📰 No Remedy for Censorship: The Perils of Murthy, RealClear Politics

📰 Chief Justice Roberts’s Two Landmark Opinions Turn Tide Toward Liberty, Forbes

📰 Student Loan Payments Could Double For Some If Supreme Court Rules Against Biden, Forbes

📰 The Supreme Court’s Jarkesy decision is about keeping promises, Daily Journal

📰 Fishing Industry Lands Supreme Court Win, Overturning Chevron Doctrine, The Epoch Times

📰 ‘Big blow to big government’: Major SCOTUS decision strips power of ‘faceless leviathan’ of federal agencies, Fox News

📰 Supreme Court took a ‘bite out of the administrative state,’ experts say, The Washington Times