LJC In The News
Lawsuit Filed to Strike Amendment ‘Born in Bigotry and Prejudice’ from Constitution
(Fox Carolina)—In Bishop of Charleston v. Adams, the Liberty Justice Center seeks to prevent South Carolina officials from using a long-standing discriminatory law to deny independent and religious schools access to federal COVID relief funds. FOX Carolina reports on Bishop of Charleston v. Adams, a federal lawsuit calling for the...
Big Labor’s Brazen Defiance of the Janus Ruling
(The National Review) – True fulfillment of the landmark court decision might take years, but conservatives are up to the fight. In its 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, the United States Supreme Court overruled the “separate but equal” precedent established six decades prior in Plessy v. Ferguson. In...
Teachers Unions Wield ‘Gross Imbalance of Power’ in School Reopening Debate, Say Critics
(Washington Examiner)—The coronavirus pandemic changed education in the United States forever. It cast a critical light on school financing, the ability of students, teachers, and parents to adapt to a new scholastic landscape, and gave teachers unions more power than they’ve had in a generation. In this series, Students Left...
Leftovers and Loose Change
(Illinois Times)—Leftover pizza could land a politician in trouble, according to a lawyer for Illinois Auditor General Frank Mautino, who is asking the Illinois Supreme Court to overrule an appellate court that’s upheld allegations of improper campaign spending while Mautino was a legislator. The amount of money involved isn’t clear....
Why Is Legality Considered Optional?
(Thoroughbread Daily News)—Bill Finley, in his Mar. 17 TDN opinion piece on the National HBPA challenging the legality of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, wrote: “It’s hard to imagine that there is one horseman anywhere who cares one bit whether or not HISA is unconstitutional or not.” To Mr....
Horsemen’s Group Tries to Head Off Horse Racing Reform
(Las Vegas Review-Journal)—The creation of the first federal regulatory body for horse racing hit a not unexpected speed bump this week when a national horseman’s group filed a lawsuit arguing the new law is unconstitutional. The National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association filed the suit Monday in a U.S. District...
Court Filings Present Dueling Visions of School Choice in Vermont
(The Valley News)—The main line of defense asserted by the state of Vermont and school districts being sued for not offering school choice has roots in the Upper Valley. The Vermont Supreme Court’s 1983 decision in Mason v. Thetford School Board contains a crystallizing sentence about the limits of school...
National HBPA and 11 Affiliates File Lawsuit Challenging Horse-Racing Oversight Board
(Daily Racing Form) – A national horsemen’s organization and a number of its state affiliates have filed a lawsuit challenging the regulatory power of a horse-racing oversight board created by federal legislation late in 2020. The lawsuit, filed on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of...
National Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Group Files Suit Against Horse Racing Integrity Act
(Northern Kentucky Tribune)—The National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) and eleven affiliates have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court challenging the constitutionality of The Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA). The legislation, originally introduced by U.S. Reps Andy Barr (R-KY) and Paul Tonka (D-NY) and passed by...
Liberty Justice Center and Principal Barton Thorne on Tucker Carlson Tonight
(Tucker Carlson Tonight)—In Thorne v. Shelby County Board of Education, Liberty Justice Center is representing a Memphis-area high school principal suing his school district after he was placed on administrative leave for speaking with his students about the importance of free speech. Liberty Justice Center Senior Attorney Daniel Suhr and...
5 Things to Know About Principal Barton Thorne and His Case Against Shelby County Schools
Barton Thorne is a teaching veteran of nearly 20 years Barton Thorne is the principal at Cordova High School in the Memphis-area, a high school that serves a diverse community including many low-income and minority students. Principal Thorne has been with Shelby County Schools (SCS) for nearly two decades, dedicating...
Liberty Justice Center discusses Principal Barton Thorne on Glenn Beck
(Glenn Beck)—In Thorne v. Shelby County Board of Education, Liberty Justice Center is representing a Memphis-area high school principal suing his school district after he was placed on administrative leave for speaking with his students about the importance of free speech. Liberty Justice Center Senior Attorney Daniel Suhr appeared on...
Even in Tennessee, Educators Who Don’t Toe the Leftist Line Can Be Punished
(National Review)—As I have written many, many times, the leftist takeover of American education is almost total. It’s just as bad in schools in “red” states as in “blue” ones. The latest piece of evidence arises in Shelby County, Tennessee. A high school principal, Barton Thorne, dared to communicate to...
Tennessee Principal Sues Shelby County Schools for Violating First Amendment Rights
(The Center Square)—A Memphis-area high school principal has filed suit against Shelby County Schools for violating his First Amendment rights after he was suspended for telling students social media and technology companies pose a threat to free speech. Cordova High School Principal Barton Thorne was placed on administrative leave by...
Suspended Cordova High School Principal Files Lawsuit Against District
(News Channel 3 Memphis)—A Shelby County School principal is suing the district after his suspension last month. Barton Thorne of Cordova High School was placed on paid administrative leave after comments he made over the district’s virtual learning platform. The audio of Thorne’s remarks, which lasts a little more than...