How To Sue Your Governor
Over the past month of advocating for civil disobedience against the
corona ban, I’ve received many requests on how a person goes about suing
the government.
A wonderful and fitting article about being civilly disobedient ran
at the American Institute for Economic Research entitled “Why Aren’t
Americans Suing Their Way Out Of Lockdown?”
That article, by Robert E. Wright, presents a legal framework for why
more lawsuits should take place. Below, I’m going to offer a framework
for HOW to make that happen. If the courts were inundated with 30
million lawsuits tomorrow, it would be a great thing. I once had the joy
of suing the government in a manner similar to this one. Alternately,
if even just one key test case is brought before the courts
successfully, as Wright describes in his piece, it could have a
tremendous impact that ripples through the country.
I’m not deluding myself into thinking that the government judiciary
will free America from government tyranny, but once in a while they
require a tyrant to explain himself, allow a citizen to redress
grievances, and occasionally act as a tool to help right wrongs.
If you think you have been harmed by the corona bans, below are some
first steps that can be taken to help set that lawsuit into motion.
Step 1: Decide: Pro Se, Public Interest & Pro Bono, Or Your Own Private Attorney
“Pro se” means you represent yourself. A lot of people have a lot of
fun doing that. You learn a lot about the process. Though I think it’s a
great education, I’m not convinced it is right for this pressing,
emergency topic.
If you decide you’d like to do this pro se, the rest of the article
is irrelevant, so please get to work on that and Godspeed. May you have
the greatest of success. For the rest of you, I’ll continue.
Public interest lawyers seek cases that have a benefit that goes
beyond just one person. They tend to seek a grave government injustice
that needs overturning. Sometimes they work free of charge to their
client, or “pro bono.” I believe on this topic, there are many lawyers
out there who will take a case pro bono if asked.
Many more attorneys will take this case for money. There may be a
lower level of philosophical commitment in that situation and a higher
level of economic commitment.
I would suggest starting by seeking a pro bono attorney and keeping
track of the paid attorneys you encounter along the way with a noted
interest in your specific case, in case you decide to reach back out to
them and fund the case yourself.
Step 2: Keep Organized
Simple spreadsheets are good for this. Pads of paper are useful, but
not great, because URLs can be long. You’ll want columns for the lawyer
name, URL, phone number, dates you’ve reached out, and responses.
Everything you learn during your search should end up in your
spreadsheet, because having everything in one place will make the
succeeding steps easier.
Step 3: Identify Potential Lawyers
During this next step, you are aiming to find a broad selection of
lawyers. Like brainstorming, you are adding anyone who might take the
case to your list, regardless of whatever downsides there might be to
working with them. The longer the list made in this step, the better.
Are There Authors Or Legal Theorists You Like?
If you have a favorite author on this topic who has a law degree,
chances are he knows other lawyers with a passion for this topic. Reach
out. Ask for a referral.
Though the list is from 2011, Walter Block compiled a fantastic,
exhaustive list of libertarian legal theorists toward the end of the
linked post that can serve as a useful reference.
Constitutional lawyer Robert Barnes has been active in the media on
Covid-19 overreach. His firm may take an interest in representing you.
Are There Cases You Have Followed?
There might be notable public interest cases you’ve heard of. They
may have taken place a few years back. See if you can find the lawyers
who were involved with those cases. There could be a lawyer, whose work
you respect, who knows how to use the courts to gets things done. Reach
out.
Tap Your Network
You likely know lawyers personally. Tell them what you plan to do,
ask them if they know anyone who might be interested. Send them a
version of your letter from the step below. If you feel like a request
to represent you is too bold, you can ask “Do you happen to know a
lawyer who could represent me in a lawsuit against the lockdown orders”
or “Might you be able to refer me to a lawyer who could represent me in a
lawsuit against the lockdown orders.”
You likely know non-lawyers who know lawyers. Check with them too.
People who share your passion about this topic are probably going to
be better to reach out to than those who have been on Next Door
snitching on neighbors and calling for 18-month rolling lockdowns.
Try to make sure that anyone you reach out to goes into your
spreadsheet. Using your network is probably forty to fifty times more
effective, for the average person, than reaching out cold, but you can
find available lawyers through a cold process as well.
Examples Of Public Interest Lawyers Who May Take An Interest In Your Corona Case
Institute for Justice has at least one member of their staff who has
taken an interest in the topic of corona bans and invites people to
submit details, like the letter above to their “report abuse,” section
of their website, which is the page dedicated to asking IJ for legal
assistance on a matter.
The Thomas Moore Law Center focuses on family values, life,
religious freedom, and calls itself “the Christian response to the
ACLU.”
Southeastern Legal Foundation is a public interest law firm and
policy center that advocates for limited government, individual liberty,
free enterprise.
Pacific Justice Institute advocates for the defense of religious freedom, parental rights, and other civil liberties.
The Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund seeks to make sure cases get
heard not only at the local level, but also at the appellate level, a
useful niche for helping to combat bad policy.
Landmark Legal Foundation is a national non-profit law firm
preserving constitutional values such as limited government, separation
of powers, and federalism.
American Civil Liberties Union has a network of staffed offices in
every state, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. Their local affiliates can
be contacted directly to see if a case is of interest.
The ACLU has at least one lawsuit seeking to overturn a corona ban.
Rather than a central office determining what cases they will take, if
you contact your local ACLU chapter, you can find out if they would 1.)
take your case or 2.) send a referral out to their referral network.
Judicial Watch mainly uses litigation to help uncover government
malfeasance. In preparation for this piece, they notified me by phone
that they were not presently interested in this topic.
The James Madison Center exists to protect free expression.
The First Amendment Lawyers Association will distribute your request to their membership from their contact page.
Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit on behalf of Maryville Baptist Church
in Louisville and its pastor Jack Roberts against Kentucky Gov. Andy
Beshear for the singling out of his church in a particularly brutal
enforcement of the corona lockdown, as other businesses nearby had full
parking lots and few restrictions. Liberty Counsel is currently
representing pastors in more than 30 states.
The Alliance for Defending Freedom had a recent victory in Kansas
with a federal judge ruling to protect churches from a corona ban and
Tyson Langhofer of the organization pointing out “Public safety is
important, but so is following the Constitution.”
The Center for American Liberty, is a legal advocacy organization,
that is fighting the California lockdown orders on several front,
including filing a lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom last week for
prohibiting in-person church services, as well as representing an
organizer of a San Diego protest against the lockdown.
In Ohio, 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, is bringing a lawsuit on
behalf of bridal shop owner Tanya Rutner Hartman, against Ohio Health
Director Dr. Amy Acton In US District Court, challenging the
constitutionality of ordering her business closed for being
non-essential.
The 1851 Center is “A non-profit, non-partisan law firm dedicated to
protecting the constitutional rights of Ohioans from government.” The
state you live in may have a similar state-specific organization.
Arizona’s Goldwater Institute takes on litigation in Arizona and
across the country and has a network of lawyers, the American Freedom
Network, for cases that the Goldwater Institute does not take on.
If you are at a loss in identifying a state specific organization,
the State Policy Network Membership Directory, may be a good starting
place. In that directory, almost every organization designates a contact
person as well as listing an email and phone number for reaching them.
Keep in mind that not all members show a strong interest in litigating
and, naturally, not all organizations who will take an interest in this
topic are included in their membership list. Many other organizations
exist, this is merely a subset.
Tap THEIR Referral Network
Every group on the list above has attorneys in their orbit who care
deeply about the topics that those groups focus on. If they don’t have
someone on staff who wants to work with you, they may be willing to send
out information about your request to their network. That email to the
network can be very effective in finding a lawyer. Keep this in mind.
If in response to a referral request, they say “Contact your local
bar association,” that is lawyer speak for “Take a hike, we’re not
interested.” Don’t take that personally.
https://thewashingtonstandard.com/how-to-sue-your-governor/
https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2020/05/16/oregon-coast-reopening-coronavirus-fear-tourists-covid-outbreak/5190980002/
