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"As Harvard University, elite law firms and perceived political enemies of President Donald Trump fight back against his efforts to use government power to punish them, they’re winning thanks in part to the National Rifle Association. Last May, the Supreme Court unanimously sided with the gun rights group in a First Amendment case concerning a New York official’s alleged efforts to pressure insurance companies in the state to sever ties with the group following the deadly 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida. A year later, the court’s decision in National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo has been cited repeatedly by federal judges in rulings striking down a series of executive orders that targeted law firms. Lawyers representing Harvard, faculty at Columbia University and others are also leaning on the decision in cases challenging Trump’s attacks on them.
“Going into court with a decision that is freshly minted, that clearly reflects the unanimous views of the currently sitting Supreme Court justices, is a very powerful tool,” said Eugene Volokh, a conservative First Amendment expert who represented the NRA in the 2024 case.
...Will Creeley, the legal director at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, said the rulings underscore how “Vullo has proved its utility almost immediately....It is extremely useful to remind judges and government actors alike that just last year, the court warned against the kind of shakedowns and turns of the screw that we’re now seeing from the administration,” he said.
...Timothy Zick, a constitutional law professor at William & Mary Law School, said the executive orders targeting private entities or individuals “have relied heavily on pressure, intimidation, and the threat of adverse action to punish or suppress speakers’ views and discourage others from engaging with regulated targets...The unanimous holding in Vullo is tailor-made for litigants seeking to push back against the administration’s coercive strategy,” Zick added."
Link
Looks like this decision is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
“Going into court with a decision that is freshly minted, that clearly reflects the unanimous views of the currently sitting Supreme Court justices, is a very powerful tool,” said Eugene Volokh, a conservative First Amendment expert who represented the NRA in the 2024 case.
...Will Creeley, the legal director at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, said the rulings underscore how “Vullo has proved its utility almost immediately....It is extremely useful to remind judges and government actors alike that just last year, the court warned against the kind of shakedowns and turns of the screw that we’re now seeing from the administration,” he said.
...Timothy Zick, a constitutional law professor at William & Mary Law School, said the executive orders targeting private entities or individuals “have relied heavily on pressure, intimidation, and the threat of adverse action to punish or suppress speakers’ views and discourage others from engaging with regulated targets...The unanimous holding in Vullo is tailor-made for litigants seeking to push back against the administration’s coercive strategy,” Zick added."
Link
Looks like this decision is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
