The Buckeye Institute and Liberty Justice Center have filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Kent State University workers who had union dues illegally deducted from their paychecks, which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled was a violation of the First Amendment. “Annamarie and Adda are asking the court to rule against this egregious and ongoing violation of their First Amendment rights, which—to date—their union has refused to acknowledge.”
The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court of Michigan to rule in favor of Uri Rafaeli in the case Rafaeli, LLC v. Oakland County and stop the government from taking his private property to pay a negligible tax bill. “The fact that the government would sell Mr. Rafaeli’s property for an $8.41 mistake and then sell it for $25,500 and keep the profits is unconscionable, not to mention unconstitutional. Even citizens of That State Up North deserve to have their property rights protected from government abuse and overreach.”
After filing the first post-Janus First Amendment labor law challenge in the United States Supreme Court, The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in support of a related challenge, Bierman v. Dayton. Buckeye’s brief calls on the court to recognize that laws forcing recipients of government benefits to speak through unions are unconstitutional. It argues that the lower courts have improperly exempted such “exclusive representation” schemes from scrutiny under the First Amendment.
The Buckeye Institute filed the first significant First Amendment labor-law challenge in the Supreme Court of the United States since the landmark June 27 decision in Janus v. AFSCME. The case, Uradnik v. IFO, calls for an immediate end to laws that force public-sector employees to accept a union’s exclusive representation. “After years of being forced to speak through a union that advocated against her interests, today Professor Uradnik spoke in her own voice, and asked the Supreme Court to protect her First Amendment rights.”
The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in State National Bank of Big Spring v. Mnuchin urging the Supreme Court of the United States to rein in the power of the unelected administrative state. “[T]he power that the CFPB director holds is perhaps the most extreme example of administrative independence to date, and that power is relatively unchecked by presidential or congressional oversight. Once confirmed, the CFPB director answers to essentially no one and is free from any meaningful form of democratic accountability…”
The Buckeye Institute filed a new amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court in the case California Sea Urchin Commission v. Susan Combs, asking the court to put an end to judicial deference to executive agencies’ interpretation of the law. “The practice of courts relying on agencies to interpret the law has proven to be dysfunctional, inconsistent with our constitutional system, and has led to the erosion of individual liberties. It is time for the Supreme Court to junk Chevron.”
The Buckeye Institute has filed a new amicus brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in the case Thomas v. Schroer, arguing that it is a violation of the First Amendment for the government to discriminate against outdoor advertisements and signs based on the sign’s message. “While we all enjoy a scenic drive and beautiful roadways, the First Amendment is even more precious to Americans and its protections must not be violated in the name of highway beautification.”
The Buckeye Institute filed a new amicus brief with the Supreme Court of the United States in the case Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, arguing that overturning Abood v. Detroit Board of Education is unlikely to cause significant decline in union membership or spending. “Forcing Mr. Janus, or any worker for that matter, to pay for speech with which they disagree violates their First Amendment rights, which are some of the most important rights we hold as Americans.”
The United States Supreme Court agreed to hear Janus v. AFSCME, which The Buckeye Institute asked the court to take up in its amicus brief, supporting Mark Janus and the First Amendment. In its brief, Buckeye showed that unions can survive without compelled contributions and, alternatively, that this change will lead unions to better serve their members. “Forcing employees to pay for speech with which they disagree and forcing them to pay fees to a union in order to keep their jobs is unjust and unconstitutional.”
The Buckeye Institute, along with the National Federation of Independent Businesses, CATO Institute, and other nonprofit organizations, filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of the United States asking it to take up the case of Garco Construction, Inc. v. Secretary of the Army that could overturn Auer deference. “In taking up Garco Construction v. Army the Supreme Court has the opportunity to overturn Auer deference and bring some clarity to government regulations, by reasserting the judiciary’s duty to say what the law is.”
