Pacific Legal Foundation Archives

Montana’s Race And Sex-Based Requirements for Key Medical Board Are Unconstitutional, Lawsuit Alleges

March 14, 2024 Virginia Star Staff

A medical watchdog sued the Montana governor Tuesday over race and sex-based requirements for the state’s top medical board.

The lawsuit was filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), a public interest law firm, on behalf of Do No Harm (DNH), a medical activist organization, in the United States District Court for the District of Montana Helena Division against Republican Montana Gov. Gregory Gianforte. The PLF is representing an unidentified woman affiliated with DNH who cannot apply to the Montana Board of Medical Examiners due to the sex-based requirements, which PLF alleges violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution, according to a DNH press release.

Group Fights ‘Race-Neutral Proxy’ Admissions in Virginia, Maryland Schools

August 25, 2023August 24, 2023 The Center Square

The Libertarian law group, the Pacific Legal Foundation, is deep into two court cases involving a Virginia high school and several Maryland middle schools and what it calls “race neutral proxies” in their admissions policies.

In an effort to have more students of all backgrounds, the schools have developed policies that put Asian American students at a disadvantage, the foundation claims.

California Doctors Sue to Stop Mandated ‘Implicit Bias Training’

August 21, 2023 Virginia Star Staff

A medical nonprofit and two California doctors are suing the state medical board to block a law requiring mandatory implicit bias training in continuing medical education.

“Under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, the government cannot compel speakers to engage in discussions on subjects they prefer to remain silent about,” the suit argued.

Pacific Legal Foundation Argues Against Thomas Jefferson High School’s Admissions Policy in Video

November 13, 2022November 12, 2022 Eric Burk

The Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) released a new video supporting its legal efforts to fight new admissions policies at Thomas Jefferson (TJ) High School for Science and Technology; the video argues that efforts to change the policy amount to a racist effort to reduce the number of Asian students at the school.

School officials instituted a merit lottery in 2020 to expand the student base to under-represented groups. In response, the Coalition protested the decision, and the PLF began representing the coalition in a drawn-out legal battle aimed at blocking the new policy. A district court agreed with the PLF and said the process was discriminatory, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit stayed the lower court’s order, allowing the school to use its new admissions policy for the 2022-2023 school year.

Group Sues U.S. Department of Education over Biden’s Student Loan Cancellation Plan

September 28, 2022September 27, 2022 The Center Square

A nonprofit legal group filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the U.S. Department of Education to block its move to cancel up to $20,000 in student loan debt for some borrowers.

“Congress did not authorize the executive branch to unilaterally cancel student debt,” Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Caleb Kruckenberg said. “It’s flagrantly illegal for the executive branch to create a $500 billion program by press release, and without statutory authority or even the basic notice and comment procedure for new regulations.”

U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Reverse Appellate Court Decision Allowing Thomas Jefferson High School to Use Controversial Admissions Policy

April 27, 2022April 26, 2022 Eric Burk

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition that would have reversed an appellate court’s decision that is allowing Thomas Jefferson (TJ) High School for Science and Technology to continue using its controversial admissions policy for the incoming freshman class.

After the court’s Monday anouncement, Fairfax County Public Schools praised the decision in a statement.

“We continue to believe our new plan for TJ admissions is merit-based and race-blind,” Fairfax County School Board Chair Stella Pekarsky said. “We are confident that after considering the facts and the law, the appeals court will decide that our plan meets all the legal requirements and guarantees every qualified student will have the chance of being admitted to the finest public science and technology high school in the country.”

Pacific Legal Foundation Files Lawsuit to End Right to Retrieve Dog Hunting Law

April 15, 2022April 14, 2022 Eric Burk

The Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) is following up a 2021 property rights win in the U.S. Supreme Court with a lawsuit over right-to-retrieve law in Virginia, a key piece of dog hunting practice in the Commonwealth. The PLF says that allowing hunters to go onto private property to retrieve dogs can harm property owners’ privacy, safety, and business.

“A fundamental aspect of property rights is the ability to exclude trespassers from your property. The government cannot grant third-party access that violates your property rights and disturbs your use of your property even if that access is in the form of retrieving a hunting dog,” the PLF said in a Thursday announcement of the lawsuit. “The Supreme Court made this clear in PLF’s 2021 win in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, which held that grants of access like this are uncompensated takings of property under the Fifth Amendment.”

Federal Judge Rules Fairfax County School Officials Discriminated Against Students by Lowering Admissions Requirements

February 27, 2022February 26, 2022 Peter D'Abrosca

A federal judge Friday ruled that Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) officials discriminated against Asian students by lowering the bar for admission to Thomas Jefferson High School (TJHS) in a push for “diversity.”

“This is a monumental win for parents and students here in Fairfax County, but also for equal treatment in education across the country,” Erin Wilcox an attorney for the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) said in a press release. “We hope this ruling sends the message that government cannot choose who receives the opportunity to attend public schools based on race or ethnicity.”

Sixth Circuit Rules CDC Eviction Moratorium Is Unconstitutional

July 27, 2021July 26, 2021 Virginia Star Staff

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the national eviction moratorium mandated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is unconstitutional. The court said in its ruling that the matter ultimately needed to be resolved by Congress.

The three-judge panel ruled that the CDC engaged in federal overreach by mandating that tenants who are unable to pay their rent and are in breach of their rental agreements may not be evicted. The CDC had implemented a moratorium in response to millions of people losing their jobs due to governors shutting down their state economies to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Coalition Sues Fairfax County Public Schools over New Admissions Plan at Magnet School

March 12, 2021March 11, 2021 Eric Burk

A group of about 5,000 community members including parents, students, and staff are suing the Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) Board and Superintendent Scott Braband over changes to admission procedures at magnet school Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ). The lawsuit complaint filed Wednesday argues that the changes were meant to reduce the number of Asian-American students at the school.