Riley Stephens

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Reilly Stephens

Counsel, Liberty Justice Center

Reilly Stephens serves as Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, litigating cases in state and federal courts around the country covering a wide range of expertise including free speech and association, campaign finance, labor law, search and seizure, property rights, educational freedom, federalism, equal protection, due process, and separation of powers.

After joining LJC as a Staff Attorney in 2018, Reilly filed more than a dozen cases around the country to enforce the First Amendment rights of public employees across the country, building on the Center’s landmark Supreme Court victory in Janus v. AFSCME. Along the way, he developed a litigation strategy to revive the nondelegation doctrine, eventually winning only the second appellate nondelegation victory in 80 years. Reilly also serves as one of the lead attorneys for LJC’s amicus practice, contributing to important constitutional cases before the Supreme Court and lower appellate courts throughout the country.

Over the course of the pandemic, Reilly contributed to a number of legal challenges to the excesses of government COVID rules, including a key role in defeating the OSHA vaccine mandate. However, the most important one to Reilly was personal: representing his own bride against the District of Columbia to win the First Amendment right to dance at his own wedding—in the end, the first song inviting guests to the dance floor was “Footloose.” Most recently, he successfully represented a pair of California doctors in challenging the State’s threat to take the licenses of anyone disagreeing with California’s official views about pandemic science.

A 2023-2024 Antonin Scalia Fellow, Reilly has contributed scholarship and commentary on important constitutional issues to many outlets, including National Review, The Federalist, the Washington Examiner, Real Clear Policy, and Gray Television.

Prior to joining LJC, Reilly served as a legal associate in the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, where he drafted amicus briefs, and provided research, commentary, and other scholarship important to Cato’s mission. During law school, Reilly served as a law clerk at the Institute for Justice and for the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Class Action Fairness.

Reilly holds a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as Senior Articles Editor of the Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy, which selected his student note for publication—an examination of the potential challenges to drug prohibition from the development of 3D-Printing. He received a M.A. in International Relations, Upper Second Class, from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where he played defense for the Men’s Lacrosse Team. A native of Baltimore, He now lives in our nation’s capital with the aforementioned bride and a very, very spoiled rescue mutt.

Reilly's Recent Cases

The Liberty Justice Center and Pelican Institute are challenging a Biden Administration rule that could put independent contractors out of business.
Filed February 8, 2024
The Liberty Justice Center and the Upper Midwest Law Center are challenging a controversial new Minnesota law that criminalizes core political speech.
Filed September 11, 2023
Tim Tizon, a student at Arizona State University, was handing out pamphlets of the U.S. Constitution to students on a campus plaza when university officials ordered him to stop. When Tizon refused to move to an isolated location away from the main campus plaza, university police arrested him.
Filed January 26, 2023
Paul Gessing, alongside Care Net and Project Defending Life, has filed a lawsuit challenging the unconstitutional use of taxpayer funds to support Planned Parenthood in New Mexico.
Filed January 17, 2023
Victory for Free Speech: Thanks to two doctors who stood up for the First Amendment, California has repealed its physician censorship law.
Filed October 4, 2022

Reilly's Amicus Briefs

Filed April 5, 2024
Filed March 4, 2024
Filed January 12, 2024
Filed December 19, 2023
Filed September 15, 2023
Filed September 6, 2023
Filed June 20, 2023
Filed April 25, 2023

Reilly's Commentary

Riley Stephens

Reilly Stephens

Counsel, Liberty Justice Center

Reilly Stephens serves as Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, litigating cases in state and federal courts around the country covering a wide range of expertise including free speech and association, campaign finance, labor law, search and seizure, property rights, educational freedom, federalism, equal protection, due process, and separation of powers.

After joining LJC as a Staff Attorney in 2018, Reilly filed more than a dozen cases around the country to enforce the First Amendment rights of public employees across the country, building on the Center’s landmark Supreme Court victory in Janus v. AFSCME. Along the way, he developed a litigation strategy to revive the nondelegation doctrine, eventually winning only the second appellate nondelegation victory in 80 years. Reilly also serves as one of the lead attorneys for LJC’s amicus practice, contributing to important constitutional cases before the Supreme Court and lower appellate courts throughout the country.

Over the course of the pandemic, Reilly contributed to a number of legal challenges to the excesses of government COVID rules, including a key role in defeating the OSHA vaccine mandate. However, the most important one to Reilly was personal: representing his own bride against the District of Columbia to win the First Amendment right to dance at his own wedding—in the end, the first song inviting guests to the dance floor was “Footloose.” Most recently, he successfully represented a pair of California doctors in challenging the State’s threat to take the licenses of anyone disagreeing with California’s official views about pandemic science.

A 2023-2024 Antonin Scalia Fellow, Reilly has contributed scholarship and commentary on important constitutional issues to many outlets, including National Review, The Federalist, the Washington Examiner, Real Clear Policy, and Gray Television.

Prior to joining LJC, Reilly served as a legal associate in the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, where he drafted amicus briefs, and provided research, commentary, and other scholarship important to Cato’s mission. During law school, Reilly served as a law clerk at the Institute for Justice and for the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Class Action Fairness.

Reilly holds a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as Senior Articles Editor of the Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy, which selected his student note for publication—an examination of the potential challenges to drug prohibition from the development of 3D-Printing. He received a M.A. in International Relations, Upper Second Class, from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where he played defense for the Men’s Lacrosse Team. A native of Baltimore, He now lives in our nation’s capital with the aforementioned bride and a very, very spoiled rescue mutt.

Interview Requests

To schedule an interview with a member of our team, please contact us.

Press Releases

Reilly's Recent Cases

The Liberty Justice Center and Pelican Institute are challenging a Biden Administration rule that could put independent contractors out of business.
Filed February 8, 2024
The Liberty Justice Center and the Upper Midwest Law Center are challenging a controversial new Minnesota law that criminalizes core political speech.
Filed September 11, 2023
Tim Tizon, a student at Arizona State University, was handing out pamphlets of the U.S. Constitution to students on a campus plaza when university officials ordered him to stop. When Tizon refused to move to an isolated location away from the main campus plaza, university police arrested him.
Filed January 26, 2023

Reilly's Amicus Briefs

Filed April 5, 2024
Filed March 4, 2024
Filed January 12, 2024
Filed December 19, 2023
Filed September 15, 2023
Filed September 6, 2023
Filed June 20, 2023
Filed April 25, 2023

Reilly's Commentary