On October 10, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard oral argument in Davis v. Guam, a case challenging a race-exclusive plebiscite planned by the Government of Guam. Guam resident Arnold (Dave) Davis was turned away from registering to vote because he is not descended from a native Chamorro. The race-based restriction was struck down by the US District Court for the District ...
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Today, the Supreme Court ended compelled union dues and restored First Amendment rights to thousands of public employees across the country. In Janus v. AFSCME, the Court ruled that workers have a right to decide for themselves whether or not to join a union. After 40 years of coerced union dues, public employees will now enjoy the same First Amendment rights as everyone else and will no longer be forced ...
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It’s been over five years since the workers at Gerawan Farming voted to dercitify the United Farm Workers. The UFW was certified at Gerawan in 1990, but then abandoned the workers for nearly two decades. When the UFW returned in 2012, they demanded that Gerawan’s 5,000 employees, few of whom were present for the 1990 election, pay union dues or else lose their employment.
The workers chose a third option: they ...
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After facing attacks on nearly every front, the Massachusetts law banning stun guns and other electric weapons has finally been declared unconstitutional. The Supreme Court cast constitutional shade on the law in 2016’s Caetano v. Massachusetts. In light of that decision, the law has come under increasing scrutiny. CIR filed Martel v. Healey in federal court seeking to have the law declared unconstitutional in violation of the Second Amendment. And ...
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On April 30th, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Frank v. Gaos, a case in which CIR filed a supporting brief. The case challenges a well-known abuse of plaintiff class action settlements known as cy pres awards in which 100% of settlement awards are given to attorneys and third party charities. In an amicus brief, CIR’s urged the Supreme Court to review the case, arguing that cy pres awards violate ...
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