Amicus Briefs and Litigation

Judicial Watch’s Legal Team files lawsuits and amicus briefs to hold federal, state, and local government entities accountable in several areas, including:

1. Government Transparency. Law-breaking thrives with secrecy. Judicial Watch fights government secrecy through litigation under FOIA (Freedom of Information Act), state Open Records Acts, and related transparency laws. Representative issues and cases:
   • Executive Powers – Policing the power of the White House to keep secrets from the American public. Judicial Watch v. National Energy Task Force, Judicial Watch v. U.S. Secret Service
   • National Security – Exposing executive branch corruption which jeopardizes the security of the American people, and eliminating secrecy about our past military operations. Judicial Watch v. Department of Defense, Benghazi, Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of the Navy
   • Government Waste and Fraud – Finding out how our tax dollars are being thrown away on questionable or illegal projects. Solyndra, Fisker Auto
   • State Access to Records – Ensuring all Americans have access to information about their state governments. Judicial Watch v. Vermont, McBurney v. Young
2. Rule of Law. Judicial Watch fights rampant law-breaking resulting from the willful non-enforcement of laws, whether due to selective enforcement or institutional failure. Open law-breaking harms the public and creates a culture of lawlessness, which leads to increases in criminal conduct. Representative issues and cases:
   • Illegal Immigration – Opposing state and local illegal alien sanctuary policies and extension of government benefits to aliens, and defending states that enforce our laws from attacks by groups who prefer lawlessness. Fonseca v. Fong, LAPD, Arizona SB 1070, In-State Tuition
   • Election Integrity – Taking on states that enable vote fraud through lack of voter list maintenance or failure to require voter ID; and defending states that take election integrity seriously from left-wing attacks. Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, DC, California, New York, Illinois, Colorado, Maryland, and North Carolina.
   • State Marijuana Legalization – States may not profit from taxing and regulating violations of federal law within their jurisdiction. Arizona Medical Marijuana
   • Illegal Racial Preferences – Opposing state college attempts to violate the constitution with race-based admissions policies. Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board
3. Separation of Powers. Judicial Watch fights against government actions that violate the strict boundaries designed to reign in government power. This includes both the separations between federal and state action, as well as checks on power between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government at both the federal and state levels. Representative issues and cases:
   • Unconstitutional Federal Overreach – Explaining the purpose of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments in relation to the state’s role in regulating abortion.  Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (SCOTUS, July 29, 2021)
   • Executive Abuse – Highlighting the danger of the Executive branch unilaterally changing the meaning of the existing regulations by ignoring the notice-and-comment requirement.  School of the Ozarks v. Biden (SCOTUS petition, March 28, 2023)
   • Judicial Activism – Preventing courts from overstepping the bounds of the U.S. Constitution to legislate from the bench and strike down democratically enacted laws. California Proposition 8, Arizona Proposition 200
   • Political Purchase of Judicial Influence – Exposing county officials providing additional payments to state judges beyond their constitutional salary. Sturgeon v. L.A. County
   • Initiatives and Referendums – Fighting left-wing efforts to prevent or subvert citizens’ rights to pass laws at the ballot box. Whitley v. Maryland, Doe v. Maryland, California Proposition 8
4. Public Corruption. Judicial Watch fights the improper use and abuse of public office for personal gain or partisan political interest in a way that violates the public trust. Representative issues and cases:
   • Whistleblower Protection – Protecting citizens who come across corruption in the government and speak out. Wright v. FBI, Shenwick v. U.S. Department of State
   • Official Law-breaking – Exposing the improper political pressure applied by Clinton’s FDA to fast-track the abortion pill for political gain.  Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA (N.D. Texas, Feb. 10, 2023)
   • Gerrymandering – Opposing incumbent legislators who try to cheat their way to re-election by creating “safe” voting districts which tilt heavily in their favor, making themselves unaccountable to voters. Gill v. Whitford, Benisek v. Lamone
5. First Amendment Rights.
   • Political Attacks – Exposing the Ninth Circuit’s approval of enforcing an unconstitutional monetary award based only on harm from protected publications without bringing a defamation action.  Center for Medical Progress v. Planned Parenthood (SCOTUS petition, July 3, 2023)
   • Viewpoint Discrimination – Exposing the Ninth Circuit’s approval of the viewpoint discrimination by enforcing an unconstitutional permanent injunction against publishing undercover videos, discussing the contents of the videos, and even using the videos as evidence in a criminal case.  Center for Medical Progress v. National Abortion Federation (SCOTUS petition, July 6, 2023)