The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Texas Top Cop Shop v. Garland, where it called upon the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to keep in place a preliminary nationwide injunction on the positively Orwellian Corporate Transparency Act—a federal surveillance program of small businesses, to which your Buckeye Institute strongly objects.

“If a commitment to access for all is the ABA’s and the law schools’ goal, then the standards should reflect a commitment to true access for all, not only members of the ABA’s preferred groups. The ABA and law schools can avoid further legal action by simply assuring access to the legal profession to all persons. Therefore, the Council should reconsider the proposed changes and adopt The Buckeye Institute’s proposed standard.”

In response to the court’s invitation—The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Fulton v. Fulton County Board of Commissioners, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to reaffirm the constitutional right to seek just compensation when the government takes private property. The Eleventh Circuit requested the brief from The Buckeye Institute recognizing its insightful and reasoned legal arguments in other property rights cases

In a new policy report, Beware the Trojan Horse of Rulemaking Nongovernment Organizations, The Buckeye Institute outlines the history of national and international nongovernmental organizations (NGO), which present a unique regulatory threat disguised as an innocuous Trojan gift horse. “NGOs operate opaquely, with little public scrutiny, and their seemingly benign proposals can be a Trojan Horse leading to needless government regulations. Regulators and elected representatives should be wary of NGOs bearing gifts.”

In 2024, Ohio fell two spots in the Economic Freedom of North America 2024 report, ranking 35th out of all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The report, released by The Buckeye Institute in partnership with Canada’s Fraser Institute, ranks all states and provinces in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico based on economic freedom, measured by government spending, taxation, and labor-market freedom. 

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Newman v. Moore with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, arguing that where government “proceedings risk limiting an individual’s rights and—like a judicial disciplinary proceeding—risk confidence in the judiciary, those proceedings should be open to the public.”

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in B.A. v. Tri County Area Schools, calling on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to tell Tri County Area Schools that their students’ political speech—even when it is expressed on a Let’s Go Brandon t-shirt—is protected by the First Amendment.

The Buckeye Institute submitted testimony to the Ohio House Homeland Security Committee on the policies in Ohio Senate Bill 37, which would ensure that the suspension of driver’s licenses is related to driving offenses. Millions of Ohioans have their licenses suspended, many for offenses unrelated to dangerous driving. The serious ramifications of these suspensions include “difficulty obtaining and retaining meaningful employment, and [a smaller] pool of available workers for Ohio businesses...”

The Buckeye Institute submitted testimony to the Ohio House State and Local Government Committee on the policies in Ohio Senate Bill 198, which help formerly incarcerated Ohioans obtain the documents they need to secure stable housing and employment. By requiring Ohio’s departments of Rehabilitation and Correction and Youth Services to provide soon-to-be-released inmates with identification documents needed for employment, Senate Bill 198 “further promote[s] the state’s interest in a safer, more just society.”

The Buckeye Institute testified before the Ohio Senate Government Oversight Committee on the policies in Ohio House Bill 238, which would make it easier for Ohioans to earn a living by eliminating or reducing occupational licensing requirements. In his testimony, Greg R. Lawson, a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute, praised the bill’s sponsors, saying, “Occupational licensing rules may not make news headlines, but they do make a difference in the lives of workers looking to start or extend their careers.”