On August 28, the Liberty Justice Center filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the targets of abusive and discriminatory investigations by states should be allowed to challenge those depravations of their rights in federal court.
In First Choice v. Platkin, after New Jersey’s Attorney General issued a subpoena to a faith-based pregnancy resource center that would require it to publicize its donors’ names, the center filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the subpoena chilled their free speech rights in violation of the First Amendment. Nonetheless, a court found that the center was still required to litigate its constitutional claims in state court where the subpoena was filed—depriving it of a federal forum.
On August 28, the Liberty Justice Center filed an amicus brief in the case in support of the plaintiffs.
“State officials should not be able to trap innocent people in years of litigation before they can even begin to assert their rights,” said Reilly Stephens, Director of Amicus Practice at the Liberty Justice Center. “We ask the Supreme Court to issue a ruling upholding Americans’ First Amendment rights against such gamesmanship.”
The Liberty Justice Center’s amicus brief in First Choice v. Platkin is available here.