The Buckeye Institute scored another legal victory, this time for Kevin Chandler, Amy Clark, and Charles C. Perry, Jr.—The Buckeye Institute’s clients in Chandler v. OAPSE. After court-ordered mediation, the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) agreed to return all of the money taken from Mr. Chandler, Mrs. Clark, and Mr. Perry’s paychecks after the three had ended their union membership.

Tuesday’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury tees up a circuit split with its ruling upholding the federal ban on home distilling under Congress’s taxing power and the Necessary and Proper Clause, which is in direct contrast with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s ruling eleven days ago overturning the 158 year-old federal ban on home distilling.

The Wall Street Journal toasted The Buckeye Institute’s monumental win in McNutt v. U.S. Department of Justice, and pointed out what many other media stories missed…that the government sidestepped Buckeye’s challenge to the Commerce Clause. In Buckeye’s even bigger case pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Ream v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Commerce Clause issue remains alive and well, and The Journal noted that the U.S. Supreme Court will most likely have an opportunity to address it in Ream.

The Buckeye Institute filed its second amicus brief in Powell v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This one with the U.S. Supreme Court, calling on the court to hear the case and overturn the SEC’s unconstitutional gag rule, which prohibits Americans who settle cases with the SEC from discussing the case publicly. “The SEC’s gag rule guarantees that Lady Justice is not only blind, but that she is also deaf.”

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Newman v. Moore, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case, arguing that the Judicial Council and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit exercised a de facto impeachment of Judge Pauline Newman, a removal power that the U.S. Constitution assigns exclusively to Congress. “This de facto impeachment circumvents the U.S. Constitution’s structural safeguards—bicameral action, supermajority agreement in the U.S. Senate, and public, deliberative proceedings.”

The Buckeye Institute commented on the February 2026 jobs report, saying, “The trends we have seen over the past few months tell us that Ohio is experiencing slow job growth, and that while Ohio’s new flat tax and energy reforms will help attract employers and workers to Ohio, lawmakers must not rest on these successes. As job creation slows, lawmakers must remain focused on reining in government spending and adopting pro-growth policies that will benefit Ohio’s businesses and workers.”

In another filing with the State Employment Relations Board (SERB)—the second in a week—The Buckeye Institute charged the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE) with an unfair labor practice for refusing to stop its illegal union wage theft from The Buckeye Institute’s client, Anthony Groves, even though Mr. Groves resigned from the union during his opt-out window.
 

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Senate Workforce Development Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 268, which make it easier for those who have paid their debts to society to find employment. In the testimony, The Buckeye Institute praised lawmakers for creating the “now-successful” certificate of qualification for employment (CQE) program and noted that by helping the formerly incarcerated “obtain CQEs sooner, House Bill 268 will reduce the likelihood of recidivism by promoting stable employment.”

In a new policy report, Damaging Consequences, The Buckeye Institute models the economic impact that a federal carbon tax would have on the U.S. economy, job creation, tax collection, consumer spending, and business investment. Buckeye’s economic modeling revealed that an $800 billion annual carbon tax would cost every American $2,900 annually and devastate the U.S. economy, resulting in  $1.2 trillion in economic loss in 2034.

The Buckeye Institute prevailed in its efforts to overturn the federal government’s unconstitutional ban on home distilling. Friday’s blockbuster decision in McNutt v. U.S. Department of Justice from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found that the federal home-distilling ban is unconstitutional and exceeds Congress’s authority under both the taxing power and the Necessary and Proper Clause. “This decision is an important victory for individual liberty and the principle that the federal government is one of limited powers.”