The Center participates in a wide range of legal activities on behalf of fundamental individual rights protection, including participating in on-going litigation projects, filing amicus curiae briefs, and educating the public through legal commentary and policy papers.
Latest News:
CFIF Urges U.S. Supreme Court to Protect Private Property
The Center for Individual Freedom (“CFIF”) last week joined with nine other national and state organizations in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court urging it to grant certiorari in the case of Empress Casino Joliet v. Giannoulias...[more]
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of An Individual’s Right to Keep and Bear Arms
The Supreme Court this week ruled that the District of Columbia’s ban on most gun ownership is unconstitutional. In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller that individuals have a right to keep and bear arms for self-defense...[more]
CFIF Vows Litigation if W. Va. Legislature Moves to Further Restrict First Amendment Rights
The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) today issued a strong warning to the West Virginia Legislature, which, during its special session, is currently working to further restrict speech and association rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution...[more]
CFIF Launches Federal Lawsuit Challenging the Constitutionality of West Virginia’s Election Law
CFIF filed its complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, alleging that several provisions of state law are vague and overbroad, and thus violate the First Amendment...[more]
CFIF Urges U.S. Supreme Court to Preserve the Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms
In its ongoing efforts to protect rights explicitly granted by the United States Constitution, the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) this week filed an Amicus Curiae brief before the United States Supreme Court in the much-anticipated case District of Columbia, et al. v. Heller, commonly referred to as "the D.C. gun ban case."...[more]
CFIF Files Motion in Federal Court Seeking to Solidify its First Amendment Rights in Pennsylvania
The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) last week filed a motion with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania seeking, among other things, to further solidify its First Amendment rights to run issue ads in the state...[more]
Center For Individual Freedom Sues to Strike Down Pennsylvania Speech Restriction
The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) last week filed a lawsuit to hold unconstitutional a Pennsylvania law that forbids independent issue ads during election periods...[more]
CFIF Urges U.S. Supreme Court to Preserve the Right of Anonymous Free Speech and Association
Amicus Curiae Brief Urges High Court to Hear and Ultimately Reverse Lower Court Decisions in Rongstad v. Lassa...[more]
Busy Week for CFIF at U.S. Supreme Court
The Washington Post recently reported that the U.S. Supreme Court is once again on track to take its least number of cases in modern history. A case in which the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) is a named party recently contributed to that statistic...[more]
Petitioners, which include a Louisiana District Attorney, members of the Louisiana Board of Ethics, and the Supervisory Committee for Campaign Finance, seek Supreme Court review on the grounds, in part, that the Fifth Circuit erred by not referring this case to the Louisiana Supreme Court...[more]
CFIF Urges Supreme Court of North Dakota to Protect Free Speech
"Today, with unconstitutional regulations such as McCain/Feingold already stifling Americans' free speech rights during critical election periods, individual states simply have no right to restrict cross-state political speech," said Timothy Lee, the Center's Director of Legal and Public Affairs...[more]
Free Speech Restored in Louisiana
After nearly two years of litigation, the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) won an important free-speech decision last week when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that Louisiana's campaign finance law does not restrict or regulate independent political issue advertising...[more]
The lawsuit seeks remuneration for what the plaintiff alleges is a faulty floppy disk controller. In addition to seeking repair, replacement or a refund under his warranty, plaintiff also sought to have the lawsuit certified as a nationwide class action lawsuit...[more]
The Privileged Press, May We All Enjoy the Freedom
America learned just how privileged the press is after the Federal Election Commission released one of its rulings last week...[more]
By Alexander Schwab: It’s ironic that, in the world’s freest nation, it takes only five individuals out of a population of 280 million to empower tyranny, savage liberty and assault the legal foundations of our country...[more]
Judith Miller Goes to Jail…for You
A journalist — Judith Miller of The New York Times — is in jail today. Her lost freedom is ours. Long before some of this country’s judges decided that the Constitution does not mean what it says, that Constitution prioritized freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of the press first and foremost against government intrusion...[more]
CFIF Urges Supreme Court to Take Reporters’ Contempt Cases
The Center for Individual Freedom filed an amicus curiae brief asking the Supreme Court to grant review of a lower court’s decision to hold New York Times reporter Judith Miller and Time Magazine correspondent Matthew Cooper in contempt...[more]
CFIF Urges Court to Overturn Louisiana Election Law
The Center for Individual Freedom filed a brief Monday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, urging the court to strike down a Louisiana campaign finance law that regulates independent political speech...[more]
CFIF Urges California Court to Recognize Privilege for Online Newsgatherers
The Center joined a group of webloggers, online publishers, law professors and free speech advocacy organizations arguing that online journalists have the same right to protect their confidential sources as the mainstream media....[more]
Report Finds ‘Clear Conflict of Interest’ in CBS-Kerry Campaign Contacts
The news was all bad this week for CBS when an independent panel led by former Attorney General Richard Thornburgh and former Associated Press President Louis Boccardi issued its report about how "60 Minutes" erred so badly in airing a segment attacking President Bush based on memos that were apparently forged...[more]
Center Urges U.S. Supreme Court to Protect Property Rights
In an amicus curiae brief filed today with the U.S. Supreme Court, the Center for Individual Freedom joined the Pacific Legal Foundation in asking the High Court to protect property owners from local governments’ use of eminent domain to seize private property under the guise of promoting economic development...[more]
CFIF Files Amicus Brief in Reporters Contempt Cases
The Center for Individual Freedom has filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, arguing that the First Amendment prevents a federal prosecutor from forcing New York Times reporter Judith Miller and Time Magazine reporter Matthew Cooper to reveal the identities of confidential sources...[more]
Center Files Brief Urging Supreme Court to End Beef Checkoff
The cows have come home. After years of numerous lawsuits in the lower courts, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide this term whether farmers and ranchers can be forced to pay for generic advertising under so-called checkoff programs. The case, Veneman v. Livestock Marketing Association, is on appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and challenges the beef checkoff program, which pays for the "Beef: It’s What’s for Dinner" campaign,,,[more]
CFIF Challenges Louisiana Campaign Finance Laws
The Center for Individual Freedom this week asked a federal district court in Louisiana to strike down the state’s campaign finance laws as an unconstitutional restriction on the rights of free speech and free association...[more]
CFIF Files FEC Complaint Against CBS, Kerry Campaign
The Center for Individual Freedom today filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission charging that CBS and Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc., illegally coordinated election communications. The complaint charges that CBS and the Kerry campaign violated federal campaign finance laws when they colluded to attack President Bush based on claims and documents now believed to be fake...[more]
CFIF Files Ethics Complaint Against Olati Johnson
The Center for Individual Freedom today filed an ethics complaint with the First Departmental Disciplinary Committee in New York against Olati Johnson, the former aide to Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) who wrote the April 17, 2002, memo urging the Senator to delay consideration of a judicial nominee in order to manipulate and influence the outcome of the University of Michigan affirmative action cases then pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit...[more]
Center’s Attorneys Present Oral Argument Before Ninth Circuit in Beef Case
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument on March 31st in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the beef checkoff program identified with the popularly recognized "Beef: It’s What’s for Dinner" generic advertising campaign. Erik S. Jaffe presented oral argument on behalf of Jeanne and Steve Charter and hundreds of other independent cattle ranchers who oppose the per-head charge on cattle to pay for promoting beef consumption. Center’s counsel Reid A. Cox and Montana attorney Kelly J. Varnes co-represented the Charters before the Ninth Circuit...[more]
Beef: It’s What’s in Our Courts
Beef, it’s not just "what’s for dinner" these days. Beef is the main entrée in courtrooms throughout the country, from the highest in the land to the rogue Ninth Circuit. The Center for Individual Freedom received notice this week that oral arguments have been scheduled before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in Charter, et al. v. USDA, et al., a case challenging the constitutionality of the beef checkoff program...[more]
Is Truth in the Eye of the Beholder?:
Does the First Amendment Protect Fact-Based Speech that Could Be "Misleading"?
From fast food to sneakers, more and more frequently manufacturers, retailers and their advertisers are facing lawsuits brought by consumers who allege injury after buying, consuming or using well-marketed products. But while false advertising has always been fair game in the world of torts, many plaintiffs today do not claim they were duped by untrue statements. Instead, the latest trend in consumer protection is liability based on "misleading" speech, even when the sales pitch may be fact-based and literally true. The Federalist Society’s Law and Advertising Subcommittee, which is chaired by Center for Individual Freedom Assistant General Counsel Reid Alan Cox, is hosting a panel discussion on these important issues on January 15, 2004, from 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. To attend the panel discussion, RSVP to the Federalist Society by phone at 202.822.8138, or register online by visiting here.