Advertise on podcast: Administrative Static Podcast

In United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development Rural Housing Service v. Kirtz, the Supreme Court considered whether private individuals can sue the federal government for violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Last week, the Supreme Court unanimously held that the federal government is subject to suit under the FCRA. This decision will now allow consumers to sue one of the nation’s largest credit reporters whenever it gives false information about them to credit reporting agencies. Mark and Vec talk about Department of Agriculture Rural Development Rural Housing Service v. Kirtz and the Supreme Court’s decision. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The IRS unlawfully seized financial records of NCLA’s client James Harper and thousands of others from a cryptocurrency exchange through abuse of a “John Doe” summons, without notifying account holders so they could contest the summons. IRS took Mr. Harper’s documents without any individualized suspicion to believe he had under-reported his income or failed to pay tax, and it denied him procedural due process to challenge the seizure. Mark highlights NCLA’s reply brief in Harper v. Werfel, which urges the Court to rule that these actions violated Mr. Harper’s statutory, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment rights. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. State Department has funded the development of censorship technology used to suppress First Amendment-protected speech by disfavored media outlets such as The Daily Wire and The Federalist based on their viewpoints. NCLA proudly represents these outlets in The Daily Wire, The Federalist, State of Texas v. State Dept. and hoping the Court will block this unlawful censorship regime before it can further abridge Americans’ civil liberties. Mark discusses The Daily Wire, The Federalist, Texas v. State Dept. and the filing of NCLA’s recent motion for a preliminary injunction to stop this direct violation of free speech and free press rights. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NCLA has filed a brief for the respondents in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Murthy v. Missouri, urging the Justices to uphold a historic preliminary injunction that would bar officials from the White House, CDC, FBI, CISA, and Surgeon General’s office from coercing or significantly encouraging social media platforms to censor constitutionally protected speech. NCLA eagerly anticipates presenting oral arguments to the Supreme Court on March 18, in defense of Americans’ First Amendment rights. Vec discusses the latest developments in Murthy v. Missouri. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While Chevron deference is being challenged before the Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is also revisiting Humphrey’s Executor v. United States—a 1935 SCOTUS decision that protects powerful federal agency commissioners from being fired by the president. Mark and Vec discuss Edith Jones and Don Willett’s disagreement over Humphrey’s Executor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NCLA is standing up for the Honorable Judge Pauline Newman as she faces unjust attempts from her colleagues to remove her from a constitutionally appointed lifetime position as a Federal Circuit Judge. This case isn’t just about restoring her to the bench—it is about the very independence of the federal judiciary and the ability of each federal judge to fulfill the office constitutionally entrusted to her. NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel Greg Dolin discusses the recent oral argument in Newman v. Moore. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The IRS unlawfully seized financial records of NCLA’s client James Harper and thousands of others from a cryptocurrency exchange through abuse of a “John Doe” summons, without notifying account holders so they could contest the summons. NCLA has filed a reply brief in the case, urging the First Circuit to rule that these actions violated Mr. Harper’s statutory, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment rights. Mark and Vec discuss the agency’s egregious violation of Americans’ rights and the reply brief in Harper v. Werfel. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The SEC denied NCLA’s long-standing petition to amend the agency’s “Gag Rule,” under which SEC forbids every American with whom it settles a regulatory enforcement case from even truthfully criticizing their cases in public. NCLA will challenge SEC’s denial of the petition in court, defending Americans against the Gag Rule’s constitutional and statutory defects. NCLA Litigation Counsel Kara Rollins joins Mark and Vec to discuss SEC denying NCLA’s petition to amend its “Gag Rule”. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Invoking the contentious “qualified immunity” doctrine, state courts in Rhode Island prevented Rhode Island College officials from facing civil liability for violating a student’s First Amendment rights to free speech and expression. NCLA has petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari in William Felkner v. John Nazarian, asking the Justices to reexamine the doctrine and abolish the ahistorical standard for “qualified immunity” that requires violations of the law to be “clearly established” via prior court precedents before officials can be held to account. NCLA Senior Litigation Peggy Little joins Mark to discuss Felkner v. Nazarian and the reply brief filed in the case last week. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NCLA filed an amicus curiae brief in Elon Musk v. Securities and Exchange Commission urging the Supreme Court to strike down SEC’s “Gag Rule” censoring every American with whom it settles a regulatory enforcement case. The SEC is limiting Mr. Musk’s future speech and ability to speak publicly without preclearance or criticize the agency as a condition of settlement. This is a quintessential instance of prior restraint, which the Supreme Court has called “the most serious and the least tolerable infringement on First Amendment rights.” NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel Peggy Little joins Mark to discuss Musk v. SEC. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Lesh was convicted in federal court and sentenced to 6 months’ probation, 160 hours of community service, and a $10,000 fine for simply posting a photo to his personal Instagram account. Mark and NCLA Litigation Counsel Casey Norman discuss oral arguments in U.S. v. Lesh. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This month, NCLA filed a brief for the Respondent in Garland v. Cargill, calling on the Supreme Court to determine that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ unilateral bump-stock ban conflicts with the federal statute defining “machineguns.” ATF’s regulatory ban, which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit shot down last year, reversed the agency’s own long-standing recognition that bump-stock-equipped firearms are not illegal machine guns. NCLA is preparing to take this case to the highest court in the land and eagerly awaits presenting oral argument on February 28. Mark discusses the response brief in the case in Garland v. Cargill. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.