October 5, 2016
As the new Supreme Court term opens,
PLF lawyers make the case for freedom

The Supreme Court opened its 2016-17 term this week, and attorneys with Pacific Legal Foundation are hard at work to make it a memorable one for the cause of liberty and individual rights!

Our recent Courting Liberty podcast highlighted some of the key cases that PLF is bringing before the justices, starting with the important property rights case -- Murr v. Wisconsin and St. Croix County -- that the justices have already accepted for this term, a case with the potential to strengthen safeguards for everyone's rights, from coast to coast.

 
Listen to
this lively
 discussion
of these cases.
 
In the podcast, host PLF Director of Litigation, Jim Burling is joined by our new President and CEO, Steven Anderson.  Also participating are John Groen, PLF's General Counsel and a Principal Attorney (he'll be arguing the Murr case before the High Court); Todd Gaziano, Executive Director of PLF's DC Center and Senior Fellow in Constitutional Law; PLF Principal Attorney Damien Schiff; and PLF Senior Staff Attorney Tony Francois. 
 
Standing up for victims of a government land grab
In PLF's Murr case -- the highest-profile property rights case that the Court has accepted this term -- PLF is defending the Murr family against a government scheme that robs them of a family legacy -- a vacant riverfront parcel that their late parents purchased decades ago as a family investment.  Regulators are banning any use of the parcel -- and refuse to compensate the Murrs for this taking, simply because the family also happens to own another parcel next to it.  PLF is determined to win this case and stop government from punishing anyone for having "too much" property!   
 
 
Holding environmental agencies accountable
When federal regulators map out a region as "critical habitat" for a species that is protected under the Endangered Species Act -- and they fail to exclude your property even though there are powerful economic reasons for doing so -- you should have the right to challenge that determination in court.  This is what we are arguing in asking the justices to take the case of Building Industry Association of the Bay Area v. U.S. Department of Commerce.   
 
Fighting for free speech rights, against public-sector retaliation  
In Bennie v. Munn, our client is a Nebraska financial adviser and Tea Party official who was quoted saying some negative things about the president.  State officials responded by targeting him for punitive regulatory treatment.  The courts gave the regulators a pass.  We're asking the Supreme Court to take the case and affirm -- especially for appellate courts -- that a rigorous independent judicial review is required when government has retaliated against someone's exercise of free speech rights.
 
Challenging rigged "wetlands" regulations 
The fix was in when federal officials were studying whether a South Dakota family's farm could have previously supported wetlands vegetation.  The answer was guaranteed to be "yes," because the feds arbitrarily chose, for comparison purposes, a site that was already designated as wetlands.  In asking the Supreme Court to take the case -- Foster v. Vilsak -- PLF argues that federal wetlands officials can't rig the process to produce a predetermined outcome.

C-SPAN covers PLF/NRI forum on new Supreme Court term 

NRI 10-16 For the third straight year, PLF and the National Review Institute jointly sponsored a forum to preview the Supreme Court's new term.  Again this year C-SPAN covered the forum, and the taped broadcast may be viewed on C-SPAN's website.

PLF boasts a proud record of nine straight direct-representation victories for liberty and limited government at the Supreme Court.
Law student writing contest essays due in January 

Ah, fall. The days shorten, the birds tend toward the south, and the law students flock back to campuses across the nation.  If you know any liberty-minded law students, please this email and let them know about PLF's Law Student Writing Competition.

The winners of our annual essay contest win cash prizes, and one will get a free trip to PLF's yearly gala.

It's PLF's way of encouraging and strengthening the next generation of defenders of essential liberty and the rule of law.

Details, including topics, are here.  The deadline for submission of essays will be January 13, 2017.


Your support allows PLF to be liberty's voice at the Supreme Court!

PLF boasts a proud record of nine straight direct-representation victories for liberty and limited government at the Supreme Court.

But we don't rest on our laurels!  This term, as every term, our attorneys are bringing forward compelling new cases to defend victims of government overreach and set new precedents for liberty across the land.

Our dedicated supporters make this work possible!  Please keep donating generously, so PLF can keep rescuing liberty -- from county courthouses to the nation's highest court! 

Regards,

Steven Anderson
President and CEO
Pacific Legal Foundation
(916) 419-7111
 

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