The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Diemert v. City of Seattle, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to look to Justice John Marshall Harlan’s dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson and his expansive view of the 14th Amendment to end discriminatory workplace equity initiatives, which violate the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964. “By recognizing the wisdom in Justice Harlan’s Plessy dissent, this court can move us towards the color-blind Constitution and the America that Harlan envisioned.”

The Buckeye Institute filed its appeal brief in Sheldon v. Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE) with Ohio’s Seventh District Court of Appeals, calling on the court to reverse the lower court’s dismissal of the case and end the union’s wage theft practices. The Buckeye Institute represents Matthew Sheldon of Carrollton, Ohio, in Sheldon v. OAPSE—one of seven union wage theft cases brought by The Buckeye Institute. Stay up-to-date on Sheldon v. OAPSE at: BuckeyeInstitute.org/SheldonvOAPSE.

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Thomas v. County of Humboldt, California, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and declare that the right to a civil jury trial—enumerated in the Seventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution—applies to the states under the Fourteenth Amendment’s privileges or immunities clause. “This case presents the court with an opportunity to reinvigorate the privileges or immunities clause and restore it to its respected place in American jurisprudence.”

The Buckeye Institute filed a new lawsuit in another union wage theft case, this time against the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees on behalf of Cindy DuPuis and Tiffany Binder, both of Lucas County. The Buckeye Institute filed DuPuis v. AFSCME in Lucas County Court of Common Pleas. “Ms. DuPuis and Mrs. Binder ended their contracts with AFSCME on the day they quit the union, and under Ohio law, all dues deductions should have ended immediately.” 

Five nationally renowned policy organizations and public interest law firms filed amicus briefs with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit supporting The Buckeye Institute’s case, Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury, which challenges the federal government’s ban on home distilling. The groups that filed amicus briefs in support of The Buckeye Institute’s case were Americans for Prosperity Foundation, Cato Institute, Center for Individual Rights, Liberty Justice Center, and Southeastern Legal Foundation.

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Center for Arizona Policy v. Arizona, calling on the Arizona Supreme Court to recognize that Proposition 211—Arizona’s expansive donor disclosure requirement—is not only unconstitutional, but also dangerous. “Four years ago, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down California’s requirement that nonprofit organizations turn over sensitive donor information to the government. Arizona’s law is worse than California’s—and should likewise be struck down.”

The Buckeye Institute filed its opening brief on appeal in Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. John Ream of Licking County, Ohio, represented by The Buckeye Institute, is challenging the federal government’s ban on the home distilling of spirit beverages, arguing that this ban exceeds Congressional authority under Article I of the U.S. Constitution and violates the Tenth Amendment.

The Buckeye Institute continues to stand up for public employees who have decided to exercise their constitutional rights and quit the government union. In a new lawsuit—this one against the National Education Association, Ohio Education Association, and the Poland Education Association—The Buckeye Institute is demanding that the union stop charging union dues to Buckeye’s client Beth Queen, a science teacher at Poland Seminary High School, in Poland, Ohio. Queen v. NEA was filed in Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas.

The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief with the Ohio Supreme Court in Cincinnati ex rel. Miller v. Cincinnati, arguing that Ohio law allows citizens to bring cases on behalf of the government when they feel it is necessary to prevent an abuse of corporate power that the government refuses to address itself. “Whatever one thinks about the merits of this case, it does not negate the fact that Mr. Miller has standing to bring the case under Ohio law.”

In a filing with the State Employment Relations Board (SERB), The Buckeye Institute charged the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association (OCSEA) with an unfair labor practice for violating the Janus rights of The Buckeye Institute’s client, Ryan Smith, a United States Marine Corps combat veteran. The Buckeye Institute’s filing with SERB follows the union’s silence on Buckeye’s May 15 demand letter to OCSEA’s state leadership, insisting that the union investigate conduct at the union orientation.