Free Republic

Pacific Legal Foundation filed suit against the U.S. Department of Education to block its illegal move to cancel more than $500 billion in student loan debt. “Congress did not authorize the executive branch to unilaterally cancel student debt,” said Caleb Kruckenberg, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. “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.” In August 2022, President Biden announced his plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student loan debt per person for more than...

Alexandria, Virginia; February 25, 2022: Today, a federal judge ruled that Fairfax County school officials violated the law by changing admissions requirements at the nation’s top public school to deliberately reduce the number of Asian-American students enrolled. Last March, a coalition of parents, students, alumni, and community members filed a lawsuit challenging admissions changes at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ). “This is a monumental win for parents and students here in Fairfax County, but also for equal treatment in education across the country,” said PLF attorney Erin Wilcox. “We hope this ruling sends the message that...

$16 million in fines dropped, threats canceled. A Wyoming rancher threatened by the Environmental Agency with $16 million fines for getting a state permit and building a stock pond on his ranch has reached a settlement that will have the fines go away and he’ll keep his stock pond. WND reported in 2015 on a lawsuit filed on behalf of Fort Bridger, Wyoming, rancher Andy Johnson by officialsl with the Pacific Legal Foundation seeking to vindicate his property rights. The lawsuit explained federal law clearly exempts stock ponds from the rules of the EPA, which had filed a compliance order...

HONOLULU, HI; August 7, 2007: A voter-enacted measure that would have reined in skyrocketing property taxes on the island of Kauai was struck down by the Hawaii Supreme Court yesterday. The court permitted local government officials to challenge the “Ohana Kauai” tax-limitation measure by essentially suing themselves – in a lawsuit in which the government was both plaintiff and defendant and the same attorneys represent both sides. The court also ruled that the state constitution does not permit anyone but government officials to establish tax policy. “We’re disappointed that the court allowed this fabricated lawsuit to go forward,” said Pacific...

The insistence of a Washington state couple that they have a right to build a four-foot concrete wall along 80 feet of the 1,270-mile-long U.S.-Canada boundary in the West has cost a U.S. member of the International Joint Commission his job, according to reports appearing last week in the Canadian news media. If the incident did nothing else, it gave Canadians (prone always to accept the dicta of officialdom) an inkling of how things work on the other side of the border. Apparently, it all started because Herbert and Shirley Ann Leu of Blaine, Wash., couldn't prevent dogs escaping from...

The top American on the International Joint Commission is fired by President Bush. And the reason may be a retaining wall in the Washington border town of Blaine. The city of Blaine doesn't require a building permit for wall four feet high or shorter. The wall is right around four feet. The top American and the top Canadian on the boundary commission both say the fence must come down because it is within ten feet of the border line. They say the "no obstructions within ten feet rule" is established by a 1925 treaty. Shirley-Ann Leu owns the property the...

THE SEATTLE school integration case decided by the Supreme Court last month was brought in the name of a group called Parents Involved in Community Schools on behalf of Jill Kurfirst and her ninth-grade son. But it was a little-known, Sacramento-based organization called the Pacific Legal Foundation — a conservative public interest law firm involved in the case from the beginning — that developed many of the legal arguments five justices ultimately found persuasive. Where did the foundation come from? The story begins with former Justice Lewis F. Powell. Shortly before he was nominated to the court in 1971, Powell,...

Court Orders Feds to Stop Stalling and Delist Bald Eagle Within Six Months Contact: Damien Schiff Pacific Legal Foundation Minneapolis,MN; August 10, 2006: Early delisting of the bald eagle from the Endangered Species Act list became almost a certainty today after a federal District Court in Minneapolis today set a deadline for the delisting. The ruling came in a case Contoski v. Scarlett brought by Pacific Legal Foundation, representing Minnesota landowner Edmund Contoski. PLF had asked the Court to order the United States Department of Interior to stop stalling and make good on its earlier promise to remove the bald...

The U.S. government broke the law when it designated more than eight million acres in the western United States as "critical habitat" for the Mexican spotted owl, charges a lawsuit filed today by Pacific Legal Foundation. "The critical habitat designation for the Mexican spotted owl runs afoul of the law in a number of ways," claimed Pacific Legal attorney Damien Schiff. "Some of the areas that have been set aside by the regulators clearly don't have physical and biological features that are essential for the owl's conservation. Other areas are described in such vague terms that it's anyone's guess whether...

This year’s "Top Five" list highlights the myth that heavy regulation promotes environmental health. “In their zeal to promote their eco-political agenda, many environmentalists ignore evidence that overbearing regulation is counter-productive,” said Pacific Legal Foundation Vice President Dave Stirling. “A balanced approach—one that takes into account the human factor, the effect on jobs, the economy, and people’s ability to provide shelter and support for their families—is actually the most promising and humane way to protect the environment.” LIE NO. 1: THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT HELPS ENDANGERED SPECIES Truth: The ESA puts species in danger and undermines constitutional property rights. For...

To: National Desk; Supreme Court, Legal and Environment Reporters Contact: Dawn Collier of the Pacific Legal Foundation, 916-419-7111 WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 /U.S. Newswire/ -- When John Rapanos began moving sand on his property in 1988, federal officials showed up, ordered him to stop, and began what has turned into an 18-year battle over the federal government's authority over wetlands. On Tuesday, Feb. 21, Pacific Legal Foundation will argue the case of Rapanos, a 70-year-old grandfather of six, before the United States Supreme Court. The case will decide whether the federal government has authority over virtually all water in the United...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A conservative legal foundation filed twin federal lawsuits Wednesday challenging federal protections for 42 species, 15 of which live only in shallow seasonal pools across much of California and in far southern Oregon. The Pacific Legal Foundation says the critical habitat designations that together cover 1.5 million acres in 42 counties drive up housing costs and taxes and harm private property rights without doing much to save species. The suits, filed simultaneously in Fresno and Sacramento federal courts on behalf of building and agriculture associations, also challenge critical habitat designations for 27 other species, 21 of which...

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) -- Property rights advocates are asking the Supreme Court to reconsider the case of a Michigan landowner who faces prison time and millions in fines for destroying wetlands on his property. The Pacific Legal Foundation wants the high court to use the case of John A. Rapanos to settle the nationwide debate over the extent of government power to protect privately owned wetlands - something the justices refused to do a year ago. Rapanos, a Midland developer, has been feuding with regulators since the late 1980s. "This case isn't about protecting wetlands. It's about federal power,"...

A judge has ruled that coho salmon have been illegally listed as an endangered species, a victory that comes too late for the farmers of the Klamath River Basin and the families of four young firefighters. In the spring of 2001, the government ordered irrigation water cut off to 1,400 farms in southern Oregon and northern California to save suckerfish and salmon... [snip] Last week, federal judge Michael Hogan agreed with the Pacific Legal Foundation that the government violated the ESA when it failed to include hatchery fish in its assessment of the coho’s status. ...the Klamath community was practically...

SACRAMENTO - A conservative legal group has threatened to sue the federal government over its plans to protect four dozen endangered species in California ranging from peninsular bighorn sheep to the tiny robust spineflower. The Pacific Legal Foundation notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service on Monday that it would file suit in 60 days, claiming the agencies failed to meet requirements of the Endangered Species Act when they set out to protect 16 animal and 32 plant species. Advance notice is required before filing endangered species lawsuits. Based on a favorable ruling in U.S....

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Conservative activists vowed Thursday to sue the state if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proceeds next week with his $920 million, 20-year borrowing plan to pay off part of one year's pension obligations. Attorneys for the Pacific Legal Foundation said Schwarzenegger's widely expected move would violate a state constitutional ban on governments borrowing more than $300,000 without a popular vote. The foundation represents a Fullerton taxpayers group aiming to derail the idea. Last year, courts cited the constitutional ban in striking down a similar borrowing plan by then-Gov. Gray Davis. "This is a clone of last year's borrowing ploy,"...

PLF Challenges Federal HHS English Translation MandateUnfunded Illegal Mandate on Doctors and Healthcare Providers Threatens Access to Care for Countless Seniors on Medicare/MedicaidSeptember 2004 In one of his many last-minute acts as President, Bill Clinton implemented Executive Order 13166, and dealt a devastating blow to doctors, medical practices, and senior citizens across the nation. This Executive Order is still on the books and has become a catalyst for unprecedented expansion of the federal government?s control of private healthcare in this country. Signed by Clinton on August 11, 2000, Executive Order 13166 directs all federal agencies to adopt a plan to ?improve access?...

Governor Schwarzenegger's well-delivered State of the State speech last week won accolades from observers worldwide. The Los Angeles Times went so far as to call it "masterful." But despite the media hordes and the expected references to the governor's illustrious film career, the stage is far from set for a Hollywood ending when it comes to California's looming budget disaster. If the $15-billion bond measure the governor succeeded in putting on the March ballot is not passed by California voters, the state could face bankruptcy as early as June. Behind the scenes, the governor is advancing what he appears to...