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This is the case I wrote about in March, and again last week, when I noted the amicus briefs from state attorneys general, from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, and from two financial and business law scholars. I also noted last week that the New York state government defendants didn't file a response to the petition.

Today, the Supreme Court called for a response; this doesn't guarantee that the Court will agree to hear the case, but it does suggest some interest on the part of at least one Justice. It also gives an extra 30 days for any other people or groups to file amicus briefs in support of the petition: "An amicus curiae brief submitted in support of a petitioner before the Court's consideration of a petition for a writ of certiorari" may be "filed within 30 days after a response is called for by the Court." It will be interesting to see whether any other amicus briefs come in. And it will of course also be interesting to see what the state argues in opposing the petition, and whether there will be amicusbriefs filed in support of the state.

Here again is the Introduction from the cert. petition:

It also permits selective investigations and penalties targeting business arrangements with disfavored speakers, even where the regulator premises its hostility explicitly on an entity's political speech and treats leniently, or exempts, identical transactions with customers who lack controversial views. In sum, it lets government officials, acting with undisguised political animus, transmute "general backlash" against controversial advocacy into a justification for crackdowns on advocates (and firms who serve them), eviscerating free speech rights.

Reaching this result, the Second Circuit disregards basic pleading standards and undermines fundamental First Amendment freedoms. It also departs from this Court's precedent inBantam Books, Inc.v.Sullivanand from the Seventh Circuit's precedent inBackpage.com, LLCv.Dart.

This case arises from a series of actionsincluding press releases, official regulatory guidance, and contemporaneous investigations and penaltiesissued by or on behalf of New York's powerful Department of Financial Services ("DFS") against financial institutions doing business with the NRA. Among other things, the Complaint states that Superintendent Maria Vullo: (1) warned regulated institutions that doing business with Second Amendment advocacy groups posed "reputational risk" of concern to DFS; (2) secretly offered leniency to insurers for unrelated infractions if they dropped the NRA; and (3) extracted highly-publicized and over-reaching consent orders, and multi-million dollar penalties, from firms that formerly served the NRA. Citing private telephone calls, internal insurer documents, and statements by an anonymous banking executive to industry press, the Complaint alleges that numerous financial institutions perceived Vullo's actions as threatening and, therefore, ceased business arrangements with the NRA or refused new ones.

The NRA brought First Amendment claims against Vullo and Governor Andrew Cuomo in their official and individual capacities. The individual-capacity claimsagainst Vullo, which were the subject of the Second Circuit's decision, withstood two motions to dismiss. But when Vullo appealed the District Court's refusal to grant her qualified immunity at the pleading stage, the Second Circuit held that the NRA's allegations fail to state a First Amendment claim at all.

In effect, the Second Circuit holds that a government official must explicitly threaten adverse consequences for disfavored speechand must do so in the absence of any contemporaneous assertion of a regulatory interestfor a First Amendment retaliation claim to arise. The Second Circuit's opinion thereby creates a circuit split with the Seventh Circuit's decision inBackpage.com, which held that a government official violated the First Amendment in circumstances closely comparable to these.

In addition, the Second Circuit refuses to accept the Complaint's allegation that Vullo clearly and unambiguously threatened insurers in private meetings, and selectively parses Vullo's official communications to disregard key passages and deny NRA the favorable inferences to which it is entitled on a motion to dismiss. The Second Circuit's decision thus defies this Court's command that, in evaluating qualified immunity, "courts must take care not to define a case's 'context' in a manner that imports genuinely disputed factual propositions."

The Second Circuit denudes Vullo's regulatory guidance of the "context" that made it ominous, while importing favorable "context" to frame Vullo's contemporaneous, selective targeting of NRA business associates as benign. "The 'context' here," the Circuit opines, "was an investigation, commenced months before the meetings, that was triggered by a referral from the DA's Office." The Circuit ignores boasts by Vullo's boss, Governor Cuomo, that her regulatory actions were "forcing the NRA into financial jeopardy." And the Second Circuit's suggestion that Vullo had non-retaliatory motives for investigating the insurance policies at issue is rebutted by the facts pleaded in the Complaint.

The Second Circuit goes on to suggest that even if Vullo did make threats, such threats were justified by the "general backlash" against the NRA "and businesses associated with them" which "was intense after the Parkland shooting." Indeed, this backlash "continues today," with many people "speaking out" against the NRA's gun rights advocacy. Such "backlash" against a speaker's viewpoint, the Second Circuit opines, "likely" has financial consequences that would justify financial blacklisting of that speaker for its controversial advocacy.

In support, the Second Circuit cites a "diversity, equity, and inclusion" consultant who charges companies for "consulting packages" to implement "corporate social responsibility" programs, as well as a "survey" commissioned by a marketing company that "strives to insert the brand's social mission and innovations into mainstream conversations through traditional and social media." The reliance on such sources underscores the unsoundness of the opinion below.

This Court has not hesitated to summarily overturn circuit court decisions, like the Second Circuit's, that disregard the applicable pleading standard in determining qualified immunity. Here, the Second Circuit makes the same error as the lower courts inLombardov.City of St. Louis, Missouri, 141 S. Ct. 2239 (2021) (per curiam),Sausev.Bauer, 138 S. Ct. 2561 (2018) (per curiam), andTolanv.Cotton, 572 U.S. 650 (2014) (per curiam). In all three, this Court summarily reversed because the circuit courts refused to accept well-pleaded facts and draw reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party in determining qualified immunity.

The public importance of this case cannot be overstated. A regulatory regimeeven a facially content-neutral onethat "inhibit[s] protected freedoms of expression and association" violates the First Amendment. SeeNAACPv.Button, 371 U.S. 415, 437-38 (1963);NAACPv.Alabama ex rel. Patterson, 357 U.S. 449, 460-62 (1958). An overt campaign by state officials to wield regulatory power against a disfavored civil rights organizationhere the NRAprecisely because of its disfavored speech at least as clearly merits this Court's attention and reversal.

Reversal is urgent because the Second Circuit's opinion threatens basic First Amendment rights at a time when the First Amendment is under widespread attack. As the American Civil Liberties Union ("ACLU") has warned, "If the NRA's allegations were deemed insufficient to survive the motion to dismiss, it would set a dangerous precedent for advocacy groups across the political spectrum."

(Note: William Brewer, Sarah Rogers & Noah Peters of Brewer Attorneys & Counselors and I are the counsel on the petition.)

Originally posted here:
S. Ct. Calls for Response in NRA v. Vullo - Reason

OAKLAND As part of National Crime Victims Rights Week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta today highlighted resources available through the California Department of Justices (DOJ) Victims Services Unit (VSU), and through additional outlets to support and empower victims, survivors, and their families. Attorney General Bonta urges service providers and all members of the public to use these resources to help ensure all those who have been the victim of a crime are aware of many of the key rights, resources, and protections available to them in California.

Victims of crime deserve our unwavering support and compassion as they navigate the criminal justice system,said Attorney General Bonta.During National Crime Victims Rights Week, and all year round, I urge Californians to take advantage of these life-saving resources to better serve all members of our community. At the California Department of Justice, we are committed to empowering those impacted by crime as they rebuild their lives.

CA DOJ Victims Services Unit

VSU works to provide victim-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally-sensitive support services to all crime victims, including underserved, at-risk, underrepresented, and vulnerable populations. Through the units services, victims can track the status of appeals, recusal cases, and other matters being handled by DOJs prosecutors. VSU has a dedicated and well-trained team of advocates who provide appeal notifications to victims and their families. These updates allow victims and their families to exercise their rights to address the court or otherwise participate in criminal justice proceedings.

VSU also supports service providers and members of the public in tracking the progress of sexual assault evidence kits as they are processed both at the state and local level through the Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Tracking (SAFE-T database). Importantly, VSUs advocates work to help victims and their families access available resources that are a critical part of the healing process, such as mental health services, safety net services, and assistance through the California Victim Compensation Board for related crime expenses.

Additional Resources Available for Victims

Attorney General Bonta is committed to protecting all victims of crime and violence. In April, the Attorney Generaljoined a multistate coalitionin a legal effort asking the United States Supreme Court to review and overturn the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision inUnited States v. Rahimi,which held that the federal prohibition on possession of firearms by an individual subject to a domestic violence restraining order violates the Second Amendment.

To receive information on resources, notification of an appeal, or notification on a case the Attorney General's Office is prosecuting, visithttps://oag.ca.gov/victimservices/notification, call VSU at (877) 433-9069 or email VSU atVictimServices@doj.ca.gov. To learn more about the work of VSU, please watch ourDemystifying the DOJ Presentation on the Victims Services Unit.

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As Part of National Crime Victims' Rights Week, Attorney General ... - California Department of Justice

April 24, 2023

State, national and international media frequently feature the University of Wyoming and members of its community in stories. Here is a summary of some of the recent coverage:

The Casper Star-Tribune reported that UW is among Wyomings top education leaders who have agreed to collaborate on pilot projects to kickstart the remaking of the states K-12 education system. UW is collaborating with the Wyoming State Board of Education, the Wyoming Department of Education and Gov. Mark Gordons office to transition education in Wyoming toward a system that is centered on individual student progress rather than seat time.

Thirty-two participants from U.S. universities and colleges, including UW, will travel to Israel for the 2023 Summer Faculty Fellowship Program, according to a release published by Jewish News Syndicate. The program aims to link scholars from diverse disciplines with their Israeli counterparts at major institutions to help to initiate exchanges and collaborations.

A recently released report found that the direct value added annually to the states economy by hospitals and nursing homes is nearly $2.6 billion. The analysis was commissioned by the Wyoming Hospital Association and was conducted independently by UWs Center for Business and Economic Analysis in 2022, according to The Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

KUNC carried a Mountain West News Bureau-produced story that featured several Mountain West schools, including UW, that competed in the U.S. Department of Energys Solar Decathlon. The competition gives teams two years to design and build zero-energy homes powered by renewables.

UWs Kevin Monteith, a Wyoming Excellence Chair, was interviewed for a WyoFile piece that focused on elk and deer herds in the Little Mountain area in southwestern Wyoming. Preliminary data from an intensive research project show that the closer deer live to elk, the skinnier they get on average.

UW College of Law Professor George Mocsary discussed the Second Amendment on the Cowboy State Politics podcast. Mocsary, the co-founder of UWs Firearms Research Center, is one of the foremost Second Amendment experts in the nation.

Cowboy State Daily reported that Nicholas Johnson, Fordham University Second Amendment scholar, spoke recently at UWs Firearms Research Center. He said gun control laws exacerbate racial bias in the criminal justice system.

WyoFile featured Wyoming Rail Yard, a UW student-led business that provides terrain parks to the underserved skiers and snowboarders of Wyoming. Dayton Hammel, a UW junior from Parker, Colo., was among eight finalists in UWs John P. Ellbogen $50K Entrepreneurship Competition last week.

UWs Dan McCoy spoke with Wyoming Public Radio about last weeks Intertribal Tourism Summit on the Wind River Indian Reservation. McCoy is the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation, Tourism and Hospitality Initiative interim director.

WBEN 930 AM, in Buffalo, N.Y., reported that college students from Buffalo State University and UW shared their thoughts on the importance of deep learning and education of Black history and Africana studies during a recent Zoom conference. The discussion was held nearly one year after 10 Black residents were killed in a Buffalo grocery store.

County 10 published UWs release noting that several Lander Middle School students visited the Wyoming Infrared Observatory, the 42-foot dome that houses UWs 25-ton telescope and its 92-inch-diameter mirror.

The Cheyenne Post published UW Extensions release detailing a free online guide that outlines best practices for chicken care and management for raising backyard chickens.

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UW in the News | News - University of Wyoming News

News

By Allie Griffin

April 24, 2023 | 10:02pm

Don Lemons fiery on-air exchange with GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy left CNN leaders exasperated ahead of his shocking ouster from the cable news network, according to a report.

Lemon got into a heated argument with Ramaswamy on the set of CNN This Morning last Wednesday and the televised clash reportedly played a role in his firing, the New York Times reported.

The banished CNN stars visible irritability during the conversation with Ramaswamy on the Civil Rights movement, black Americans and the Second Amendment left several CNN leaders exasperated, two sources told the paper.

In the footage of the interview, it appears producers were attempting to advise Lemon through the heated debate.

Please, I cannot keep a thought if you guys are talking in my ear, he said at one point during the segment.

Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital that he thought it was clear their on-air confrontation played a role in CNNs decision to drop Lemon.

I think that any network that wants to foster open debate should embrace that principle by not restricting what someone can say or saying what someone can say is restricted based on their skin color, Ramaswamy told the outlet. And I think they made the right decision here.

Lemon, who is black, had said it was insulting that the GOPer was sitting here, whatever ethnicity you are, explaining to me what its like to be black in America.

The televised clash was the latest story about Lemon to make waves following a series of recent headlines about his allegedly troubling behavior.

One of his most notable missteps was his comments about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley being past her prime at age 51. He added that a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s in a statement that was called out as sexist by people on all sides.

He also spared with his female co-hosts and reportedly belittled anchor Kaitlan Collins after being forced to share the spotlight.

Don Lemon is no stranger to controversy.

The now ex-CNN anchor was in hot water multiple times in thelead-up to Mondays shock firing from his infamous Nikki Haley past her prime remark to a screaming match with a female co-host and alleged diva behavior.

CNN hasnt provided a public explanation for Lemons ouster after 17 years with the cable news network. But Lemon took to Twitter to insist that he had been blindsided by the news after hosting CNN This Morning earlier in the day.

Below are just a few of Lemons recent controversies.

In December last year, Lemon is said tohave screamed at his co-anchor, Kaitlan Collins, after an on-air segment, sources told The Post at the time.

When the cameras stopped rolling after the Dec. 8 show, he allegedly approached Collins and unleashed on her in front of staffers for supposedly interrupting him on air.

Don screamed at Kaitlan, who was visibly upset and ran out of the studio, one source said.

In the aftermath, a source said: At this point, Kaitlan wants to be on set with Don as little as possible Its messy.

Just weeks before his alleged screaming match, Lemon clashed with his two female co-hosts over on-air remarks he made about womens soccer.

Lemon got into an awkward dispute with both Collins and Harlow after he suggested the US mens soccer team should get paid more than the womens side.

The mens team makes more money. If they make more money, then they should get more money, Lemon said.

The mens team makes more money because people are more interested in the men.

A damningVariety magazine reportpublished earlier this month alleged Lemon has a long history of sexist and diva-like behavior.

The report cited roughly a dozen former CNN staffers who listed several alleged instances of misogynistic behavior.

Read more of the Posts Don Lemon coverage

Lemon slammed his abrupt firing from CNN Monday, claiming to have been blind-sighted by the decision.

I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN. I am stunned after 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have the decency to tell me directly, Lemon wrote in a statement on Twitter.

At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network. It is clear that there are some larger issues at play.

However, CNN vehemently denied that he wasnt given notice.

Don Lemons statement about this mornings events is inaccurate,CNN tweeted. He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.

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See the article here:
Don Lemon's fiery exchange with GOP candidate left CNN leaders 'exasperated' - New York Post

This is notice to Ronna and Jaime: Hit me with your best shots; convince me with actions not words. In fact, now that I look at that sentence, I will change notice to challenge because the present politically reported situation calls for it. With that done, let me explain what it means.

The two people I named are the chairs of the two prominent political parties in the United States. Ronna McDaniel heads the Republican National Committee and Jaime Harrison is over at the Democratic National Committee; the NCs seen in bold print above. It is the job of both of these people to get their partys message out to the voting populace in every precinct in every state in America and beyond (beyond being overseas military, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands).

It is accepted that a majority of voters registered of either of the parties will vote the party line by casting their ballots for members of their party, as well as any issues touted by their party, so one of the biggest aims of Jaime and Ronna is to get those voters who are somewhere in the middle. And that is me.

I am a voter registered as a member of the American Independent Party. And the word independent is used in its most literal definition, as I am not cajoled by any member of my party to vote straight party line because frankly I dont know any other members, nor do I know any of their candidates and agendas beyond the fact that they, we, dont want to be straight-jacketed by misplaced party loyalty. So I want to put forward a few issues and comments on what Mitts niece and the man from South Carolina may want to pay attention to.

Issue No. 1: Children 5 through 18 years old now die at a greater number by gun violence than automobile accidents. Since the Columbine shooting in April 1999, there have been 376 shootings on school campuses witnessed by a little over 348,000 students and the deaths of 304 students and staff.

Social media comments by Republican supporters of the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution indicate they are convinced someone in government is going to take their guns and leave them prey to bad guys, but to many of them the bad guys are the government, not the populace they seek to remain armed with as many kinds of guns as possible no matter what. What happens when the Second Amendment protected gun owners sitting at home pose a greater threat to society than the criminal in the street?

I mean, cmon, how many of these school shootings are done by career criminals? And on this issue, the Democrats have countless gun owners in their ranks, so while they want to put an end to myriad guns made for the express purpose of doing as much damage to human being as possible in the shortest amount of time, they waffle and waver and get nowhere. Ill vote for any candidate or law that curbs this situation, while I wait to hear about the next kids who will surely die.

Issue No. 2: Republicans must endure Trumpism until the man behind it all is pushing up daisies. That is unfortunate for Ronna because she cant, or wont, put up strong opposition to right-wing medias constant attention to voter fraud, Covid conspiracies and other nonsense issues instead of health care, rising costs, foreign policy or anything really meaningful to the American people.

And, again, the Democrats are on the defensive, mired in the bog of countering the media onslaught of one mans influence and all the while knowing any efforts on their part will end up at the Supreme Court, which that man packed. Weak, to say the least. I will vote for any person other than that person and vote against any person or law proposed by that person. But, I just might vote for any person of that mans party who denounces him.

Issue No. 3: Abortion. One of the hottest of the sociopolitical hot buttons. I once held the belief that no man can hold valid opinion on abortion because it is just plain impossible for men to understand what a woman feels about pregnancy and child birth. It was a blatant attempt at doing what most politicians do, which is dodge the issue.

But the recent attacks nationally and in some states on a womans right to determine what is best for her regarding pregnancy and the fact that I have three granddaughters, and by virtue of some of my activities I have many associates who are teenaged girls, it seems I need to take a position on the issue. I will vote for any candidate or law that allows a woman to make the decision regarding her pregnancy period. And if you have a religious belief that disallows unfettered abortion while supporting gun ownership rights, I will not listen to your hypocrisy.

Issue No. 4: Global Warming. We all know it is a fact and if we are intelligent enough, we know the causes. The internal combustion engine is dinosaur in its death throes and the future of our children depend upon drastic moves away from gas-burning devices and other such polluters. Some seek to engineer electric automobiles; there is a billionaire out there making big claims about his vehicles, but to date 342 people have died in Tesla fires all caused by bad engineering, so this rich mans claims dont hold much water with me.

But there are other alternatives out there and they must be found. I will vote for any candidate or law that will move us away from the mass destruction to the planet caused by present day use of polluting machinery and practices.

OK, Ronna and Jaime, now you know what will get my vote, convince me your side is right.

Take care. Peace.

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Funny Papers Again Column | To the Two NCs: Come Get Me - King City Rustler