ACRU Amicus Briefs Archives

ACRU Brief Says Right to Firearms Not Limited to Home

By ACRU Staff|2023-03-10T08:04:42-05:00February 11th, 2013|

WASHINGTON (Feb. 11, 2013) — In a brief filed today at the U.S. Supreme Court, the American Civil Rights Union (ACRU) urges the court to hear a case involving New York citizens who say their Second Amendment right to bear arms has been abridged by a state law and a court ruling limiting gun rights to inside the home.

Written by ACRU General Counsel Peter Ferrara, the brief notes that the Second Circuit Court, in upholding a district court ruling, “failed to follow the plain language of District of Columbia v. Heller (2008).” The court “limited the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms to […]

ACRU Brief Supports Arizona's Citizenship Law for Voting in Federal Elections

By ACRU Staff|2020-04-23T21:59:33-04:00December 14th, 2012|

(Alexandria, VA) – The American Civil Rights Union filed a brief today with the United States Supreme Court in Arizona v. The Intertribal Council of Arizona in support of Arizona’s Proposition 200, which requires prospective voters to provide satisfactory evidence of citizenship to register to vote. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a District Court ruling upholding that state law, concluding that federal election law preempts Proposition 200 in regard to federal elections.

“While states continue to move forward in preventing voter fraud by passing Voter ID laws, purging deceased voters from their rolls and blocking non-citizens from casting ballots, liberal groups and activists […]

ACRU Brief Asks Supreme Court to Hear Colleges' Case against HHS Contraception Mandate

By ACRU Staff|2012-10-15T12:57:13-04:00October 15th, 2012|

Lower federal courts erred in dismissing two colleges’ challenges to the Obama Administration’s contraception mandate, the ACRU argues in an amicus brief filed on Oct. 12 at the U.S. Supreme Court. The brief in Wheaton College and Belmont Abbey College v. Kathleen Sebelius states that:

“Both rulings under review permit expansion of the power of the executive branch far beyond its constitutional limits. Specifically, by dismissing the Colleges’ complaints, the ruling below places in the hands of an executive agency a vast power to strip the court of jurisdiction to review executive regulations.”

The ACRU’s brief notes that the lower courts […]

ACRU Urges Supreme Court to Adopt 'Coercion Test'

By ACRU Staff|2020-04-23T21:52:49-04:00April 5th, 2012|

March 14 – In an amicus brief submitted today to the U.S. Supreme Court, the American Civil Rights Union argues for a new constitutional standard protecting religious freedom.

The case, Mount Soledad Memorial Association v. Steve Trunk, et al, involves the cross at the Mt. Soledad veterans memorial in San Diego, which the ACLU and other groups want torn down. The Court may decide to hear the case later this year.

The ACRU’s argument – the ‘Coercion Test’ – is that public religious expression does not violate the Constitution’s prohibition against establishment of religion unless it involves coercion. ACRU General Counsel Peter Ferrara, author of […]

ACRU Files Supreme Court Briefs Defending Arizona and Challenging ObamaCare

By ACRU Staff|2012-02-13T15:32:15-05:00February 13th, 2012|

Feb. 13 — An American Civil Rights Union brief filed today at the U.S. Supreme Court argues that Arizona has the right to enforce existing federal law regarding illegal immigrants. The Justice Department had sued Arizona over its new law directing law enforcement personnel to ask for proof of citizenship when stopping people for law violations.

The brief, authored by ACRU General Counsel Peter Ferrara, states:

“Arizona is ground zero for the illegal immigration tidal wave, with over one-third of all illegal border crossings in the nation in that state alone. This includes gang members in Mexican drug cartels and criminals fleeing their home countries […]

ACRU Argues for Rule of Law, Financial Accountability in Stock Market Case

By ACRU Staff|2011-10-26T23:08:38-04:00October 26th, 2011|

The American Civil Rights Union filed a brief on Wednesday supporting a complaint that the National Association of Securities Dealers should be held accountable for misleading members as to a proxy vote over a change in bylaws.

“NASD’s claim of immunity highlights the threat posed by Self Regulating Organizations (SROs) operating outside laws designed to protect investors,” said ACRU General Counsel Peter Ferrara, who wrote the brief.

The brief states:

“The Constitution says that the legislative power is delegated to Congress, which covers regulatory rules as compelling as any statute. While private self-regulatory organizations are desirable, they must remain accountable and subject to the […]

ACRU Files Amicus Brief Defending Property Owner's Right to Build

By ACRU Staff|2011-10-03T00:23:52-04:00October 3rd, 2011|

September 30, 2011 – Petitioners Chantell and Michael Sackett purchased a residential lot in a residential neighborhood, zoned and permitted by local authorities for construction of their home. After they began earthwork preparatory to such construction, they received a Compliance Order from the EPA effectively ruling that moving around dry earth and fill materials on their residential lot to begin their homebuilding project somehow involved discharge of a pollutant into the navigable waters of the United States in violation of the Clean Water Act. The Sacketts were denied any hearing to contest the Compliance Order by the EPA and by the lower federal courts. In late March, […]

ACRU Files Amicus Brief Supporting Arizona Immigration Legislation

By ACRU Staff|2020-04-23T21:58:20-04:00September 15th, 2011|

Arizona is ground zero for the illegal immigration tidal wave, with nearly half of all illegal border crossings in that state alone. This includes gang members in Mexican drug cartels and criminals fleeing their home countries south of the border. To counter the physical safety concerns and the costs arising from this illegal immigration, Arizona enacted the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (S.B. 70) on April 29, 2010. That legislation seeks to use state law enforcement resources to promote more effective enforcement of federal immigration laws in Arizona. The legislation does that through cooperative law enforcement with federal agencies and sanctions expressly designed to […]

ACRU Brief Argues for 'Coercion Test' in Utah Highway Cross Case

By ACRU Staff|2020-04-23T21:54:03-04:00May 24th, 2011|

May 23, 2011 – Memorial crosses honoring fallen Utah Highway Patrol Officers are not an unconstitutional establishment of religion because there is no coercion involved, the American Civil Rights Union (ACRU) argues in an amicus curiae brief filed today in the U.S. Supreme Court.

The ACRU’s brief in support of the Petitioners in Davenport et al. v. American Atheists, Inc., urges the Court to grant certiorari to review the ruling of the Tenth Circuit finding the cross memorials to be an unconstitutional establishment of the Christian religion.

“This case presents an opportunity for an historic, landmark ruling that will return Establishment Clause law to the […]

ACRU Files Brief Supporting Florida's Challenge to Obamacare

By ACRU Staff|2011-05-11T14:17:13-04:00May 11th, 2011|

The American Civil Rights Union (ACRU) filed an amicus curiae brief today in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in support of Florida and other states in the case of State of Florida, et al. v HHS, et al. seeking to strike down Obamacare.

“The brief argues that Obamacare’s individual mandate is unconstitutional because the delegated, enumerated power in the Commerce Clause to regulate interstate commerce does not include compelling people to buy government-designated health insurance,” said ACRU General Counsel Peter Ferrara, who wrote the brief.

The Heartland Institute recently published a book-length study by Mr. Ferrara entitled The Obamacare Disaster: […]