LJC In The News
Judge: School Choice Advocates Can Intervene in Voucher Case
(WVLT 8)—A Tennessee judge on Friday agreed to allow school choice advocates to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the legality of the state’s school voucher program. That means the Liberty Justice Center, the Institute for Justice and the Beacon Center of Tennessee will all have a chance to defend the...
Judge Pledges To Move Swiftly On TN Education Voucher Lawsuit
(Chalkbeat Tennessee)—A Nashville judge promised Friday to move expeditiously in the widening court battle over Tennessee’s new education savings account law as the state works to launch the program for the upcoming school year. Chancellor Anne C. Martin also indicated that she likely will allow three pro-voucher groups representing parents...
Both Sides Brandish First Amendment in Battle over Rhode Island Donor Disclosure Law
(Boston Globe)—Both sides enlist the First Amendment to make their case. Both sides talk about freedom of speech and the marketplace of ideas. But the two sides draw diametrically opposed conclusions about a Rhode Island campaign finance law, passed in response to the US Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, requiring...
Groups Sue Toulouse Oliver over Donor Disclosure
(Santa Fe New Mexican)—Two conservative groups have sued New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver in federal court in an effort to hide the identities of donors who fund political issue advertisements. The Albuquerque-based Rio Grande Foundation and Illinois Opportunity Project argue that a new state law requiring stricter...
Union Pressured Inver Hills College Clerk to Join, Lawsuit Says
(Star Tribune)—A Twin Cities community college employee is suing the union representing campus clerical workers and the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities, alleging she was pressured to join the union without receiving sufficient information. The lawsuit against the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council (AFSCME)...
Appeals Court to Decide if Unions Should Refund Illegal Fees
(Cook County Record)—The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled it is unconstitutional to require non-union state workers in Illinois to pay “fair share” fees to a union, but a Chicago federal appeals panel is considering whether a union must refund millions of dollars in fees already collected. The appeal was brought...
California Workers Have Constitutional Rights – Even If Unions Think They Don’t Matter
(The Hill)—Years ago, when Mike Jackson and Tory Smith started working in the Parking Department at the University of California, San Diego, they assumed they were required to join the public employees’ union. Not that it made much difference whether they joined or not. At the time, 22 states, including...
Maryland State Employees File Lawsuit Against AFSCME to Recoup Union Fees that Supreme Court Found Illegal
(Baltimore Sun)—A group of Maryland state employees has filed a federal lawsuit against their labor union to recoup union fees the U.S. Supreme Court found to be illegal in a ruling last year. In a class-action lawsuit filed Wednesday in Baltimore against the American Federation of State, County and Municipal...
Aided by Conservative Legal Groups, State Workers Sue to Recoup Union Dues
(Maryland Matters)—A group of state government workers on Wednesday sued a public employee union, saying the union improperly collected dues from them even though they never became members. The class-action suit was filed in federal court in Baltimore against the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 3,...
Maryland State Workers Sue Union, Alleging It Defied Janus Ruling and Coerced Dues
(Washington Examiner)—A group of 19 Maryland state employees have filed a class action suit against their union, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 3, seeking $7 million in dues they claim was illegally taken from them. The suit argues the union is acting in defiance of the...
Conservative Group Challenging Montana Campaign Order
(AP News)—A conservative advocacy group is challenging Montana Gov. Steve Bullock’s executive order that requires organizations that receive large state contracts to report political contributions that exceed $2,500, even if those disclosures aren’t required under federal election laws. The challenge was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court by the Illinois...
Group Files Challenge to Bullock’s Executive Order on ‘Dark Money’ and State Contracts
(Helena Independent Record)—One of the hallmark messages of Montana Gov. Steve Bullock’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination is the subject of a lawsuit filed by a conservative advocacy group this week in U.S. federal court in Helena. In June 2018, Bullock signed an executive order saying that to receive...
Free Market Group Sues Bullock Over ‘Dark Money’ Rule
(Montana Public Radio)—An Illinois advocacy group is suing Montana Gov. Steve Bullock over one of his trademark campaign finance policies targeting so-called ‘dark money’ in politics. The lawsuit announced Wednesday asks a federal judge to strike down Montana’s nearly year-old policy that requires certain businesses seeking contracts with the state...
Democrat Governor Excludes Conservative News Service From Media List
(The Daily Signal)—When two reporters showed up at the Wisconsin governor’s office in February for a press briefing on the new administration’s proposed budget, staffers turned them away. Although the governor’s office didn’t formally invite the reporters, they were credentialed through the Wisconsin Legislature to cover government activities. They also...
Wisconsin Governor Sued for Barring Conservative Journalists from Briefing
(Fox News)—A conservative think tank in Wisconsin is suing the state’s governor, Tony Evers, amid allegations that his administration has denied journalists working for the group’s new service access to a budget press briefing and refused to add its reporters to the governor’s press list. The Maclver Institute, a right-leaning...