On June 3, 2019, in a great victory for free expression and the rule of law, Judge Cormac Carney granted the Rise Above Movement defendants’ motions to dismiss their indictments in the United States v. Rundo, et al. prosecution in California under the Anti-Riot Act. FEF had filed an amicus brief in support of the motions to dismiss and the court’s analysis showed signs of having been influenced by FEF’s arguments. Read Judge Carney’s opinion here.
On October 8, 2019, FEF filed an amicus brief in the federal Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the Rise Above Movement defendants who had been prosecuted under the Anti-Riot Act for their participation in the Charlottesville, Virginia, Unite the Right Rally. At the trial court, the defendants, under intense pressure and in difficult prison conditions, had agreed…
The following is the text of the Amicus Curiae (Friend of the Court) brief filed with the United States Supreme Court by Free Expression Foundation lawyers on October 25. The brief presents a direct and so far ignored rationale for striking down the 1968 Anti-Riot Act. It also proposes a simple solution to the multitude of problems created by recent…
Although amicus curiae parties are rarely permitted to file two amicus briefs in an appeal, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has accorded FEF this unusual distinction. On January 9, 2020, the Fourth Circuit allowed FEF to file a second amicus brief – FEF’s reply amicus brief – in the United States v. Miselis Rise Above Movement appeal. In its…
On November 13, 2019, Judge Katherine Blake dismissed Glen Allen’s complaint against Heidi Beirich and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Allen had filed his complaint in the federal court in December 2018., alleging nine counts, including claims under the Racketeer and Corrupt Organizations (“RICO”) statute and common law claims for tortious interference and defamation. After the SPLC defendants moved to…
On November 17, 2020, oral argument was held before Judges Fernandez, Paez, and Tigar in the Ninth Circuit Rundo RAM appeal. The argument was held via Zoom because of the Covid restrictions, and attorneys representing FEF listened in. The judges asked many pointed questions, especially of the government, which gave hope to FEF’s attorneys that the judges appreciate the constitutional…
On January 31, 2020, Glen Allen, as an observer, on behalf of FEF attended oral argument in the Fourth Circuit Miselis appeal. He noted that the Chief Judge, Judge King, seemed hostile to the RAM defendants, that Judge Rushing asked virtually no questions, but that Judge Diaz did pose several pointed questions to both sides. He commented that it was…