The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Powell v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, calling on the court to overturn the SEC’s unconstitutional gag rule, which prohibits Americans who settle a case with SEC from discussing the case publicly. “Since our nation’s founding, judicial review in the face of government overreach has been ‘the very essence of civil liberty.’”

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Frisard’s Transportation v. U.S. Department of Labor with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, calling on the court to overturn the U.S. Department of Labor’s rule that forces independent contractors into unwanted employment situations. “This government rule will turn millions of independent contractors into unwilling employees, ending their American dream of working for themselves.”

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Iowa v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, calling on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to tell the SEC and the Biden administration that their new rule imposing environmental, social, and governance reporting exceeds the SEC’s Congressional authority and will have dire economic consequences for American farmers and families. “Not only does this rule exceed Congressional authority, but it could also spell disaster for struggling American farmers and families.”

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Wilson v. Hawaii, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and tell the Hawaii Supreme Court that it is bound by the U.S. Supreme Court’s rulings on the Second Amendment. “The U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions are the law of the land with regards to the U.S. Constitution, and Hawaii cannot simply ignore the court or parts of the Constitution that they believe are ‘inconsistent with the Spirit of Aloha.’”

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Laird v. United Teachers of Los Angeles, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and tell government unions that they cannot rely on obscure and arbitrary opt-out windows as a way to deny First Amendment rights to public employees and they cannot illegally take money from public employees’ paychecks once they have quit the union. 

The Buckeye Institute filed its appeal and a request for oral arguments in Flannery v. D.C. Department of Health with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The Buckeye Institute’s client, Eric Flannery, is challenging D.C. Council’s and Mayor Muriel Bowser’s unconstitutional pandemic-era emergency acts and orders, which D.C. used to force the closure of The Big Board, a neighborhood bar and grill located in our nation’s capital, owned by Mr. Flannery. 

The Buckeye Institute, joined by Mountain States Legal Foundation, filed an amicus brief in Smith & Wesson v. Mexico, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and tell officials in Mexico that it cannot shift the blame for its failure to control drug cartel crime in its country onto American companies. “When Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, it was clear Congress intended to protect the Second Amendment.” 

The Buckeye Institute, joined by Mountain States Legal Foundation, filed an amicus brief in Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence Corp. v. School Committee for the City of Boston, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and end discrimination-by-proxy in elite public schools. “In Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, the U.S. Supreme Court made it clear that admissions criteria using race as a factor is unlawful.” 

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Kansas v. Biden, with the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, arguing—as it previously did in both Biden v. Nebraska and U.S. Department of Education v. Brown—that the Biden administration’s newest student debt cancellation program exceeds the legal authority of the secretary of education, is arbitrary and capricious, and was adopted in a procedurally improper manner.

The Buckeye Institute won a significant victory for its client Dr. Manal Morsy in Morsy v. Gentile (previously Morsy v. Dumas). The City of Cleveland abandoned its appeal in the case and agreed to 1) fully refund the taxes that were illegally taken from Dr. Morsy, 2) pay the interest owed to her according to Cleveland City Ordinance, and 3) reimburse her court costs. This is The Buckeye Institute’s second victory in the case.