Case Updates

Artist Challenges Confederate Flag Ban

On August 15th, CIR filed suit on behalf of California artist Timothy Desmond against officials in charge of the Big Fresno Fair. Those officials refused to allow Desmond’s painting, which depicted a Civil War battle scene, to be displayed in the fair’s art show because it included a rendering of the Confederate flag.

CIR Files Brief for Free Speech in Westchester County Appeal to Second Circuit

On July 22nd, the Center for Individual Rights filed an amicus brief before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of Westchester County, New York. The County Executive, Robert Astorino, is engaged in an ongoing political dispute with the Obama administration’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which

Court Declines to Protect Speech in Westchester County

On June 27th, Judge Denise Cote of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York held that public statements by Robert Astorino, the County Executive of Westchester County, New York, were not protected by the First Amendment.  Astorino’s statements were about what he and others across the

In Memoriam: Gerald Walpin 1931-2016

The Center for Individual Rights is deeply saddened by the tragic death last Friday, June 24, of our longstanding Board member Gerald Walpin.  We extend our condolences to Jerry’s wife, Sheila, his three children, six grandchildren and extended family.

Jerry spent more than forty years at the New York firm of

Supreme Court Upholds Unconstitutional Racial Preferences

In what many Supreme Court experts consider a surprise opinion, the Supreme Court voted to uphold the system of racial preferences used for admission at the University of Texas, Austin. In a confusing holding that significantly departs from his original holding in Fisher I, Justice Kennedy authored an opinion that

CIR Defends Speech Against Climate Crusade

CIR is assisting the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) in its fight against the Attorney General of the Virgin Islands and his effort to issue a subpoena on CEI demanding that it produce a decade’s worth of communications, statements, and documents related to CEI’s work on climate change from 1997-2007. After several rounds of

Why the Supreme Court Needs to Resolve Friedrichs

Events in Chicago once again highlight the need for the Supreme Court to resolve the questions at issue in Friedrichs v. CTA. While the Supreme Court considers CIR’s Petition for Rehearing, experience is proving that Friedrichs represents ongoing problems for teachers across the country. These issues refuse to go away

HUD Tries to Silence County

CIR has filed an amicus brief in support of Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino and his ongoing effort to fend off an overreaching federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD is attempting to silence Astorino’s opposition to its agenda of dismantling local zoning ordinances in Westchester County, a northern suburb of New York