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SCOTUS Term Preview and Advocacy for 501(c)(3)s

It’s fall, it’s October and the US Supreme Court is back in session. On today’s episode, we have a special guest from the AFJ Justice team. We are joined by our colleague Jamal Lockings. With Jamall we will cover the big cases to be heard by the court. Then we will talk about how nonprofits can get involved with supreme court advocacy, nominees, and more while staying nonpartisan and being mindful of lobbying limits. 

 

Attorneys for this Episode 

Brittany Hacker 

Susan Finkle Sourlis 

Jamaal Lockings 

  

Intro to Justice Program 

  • Our justice team works on both federal and state judicial appointments and elections and runs numerous invaluable resources including our judicial vacancy tracker and helps keep us and the public informed about nominees. This includes the decisions they make after they’ve been confirmed, and how cases in federal courts – especially the supreme court – are impacting our civil rights and democracy.    

  • Today, we are thrilled to be joined on the pod by our friend and colleague Jamaal Lockings. Jamaal is a fellow attorney who serves as a Dorot Fellow on the Federal Courts team.  

  • Today we want to talk about the upcoming cases in this supreme court term, what we should be keeping an eye on, the potential impacts for our c3 partners, and what nonprofits can do during this term and future terms to advocate.  

 

Cases to watch out for this term 

  • Voting Rights and Money In Politics 

  • Louisiana v. Callais 

  • Issue: Whether a states efforts to comply with the VRA is, in itself, a form of racial discrimination 

  •  (1) Rehearing from last term (2) The Court is playing politics (3) the VRA is on the chopping block  

  • Consequences: A final blow to the VRA, and increased difficulty for minority voters to participate in free and fair elections  

  • National Republican Senatorial Committee v. FEC 

  • Issue: Whether to maintain the federal limits on political party coordination w/ candidates in campaign advertising.  

  • (1) Could render campaign contribution limits meaningless, increasing the already outsized influence of money in politics (2) These cases on elections and voting rights can’t be observed in a vacuum  

 

  • LGBTQ+  

  • Chiles v. Salazar  

  • Issue: Whether Colorado’s ban on “conversion therapy” for minors violates First Amendment protections of free speech and religious exercise  

  • (1) Religious litigants have been notoriously successful in this court (2) free speech and religious exercise have been used not to ensure equity or equality but to prop up Christian nationalist ideology.  

  • West Virginia v. B.P.J.  

  • Issue: Title IX and barring Trans athletes  

  • (1) This court continues to wade into culture wars (2) It’s ruling in Skrmetti and Justice Barrett’s assertion that Trans isn’t a protected states (3) Embolden lawmakers to continue to write oppressive laws against trans individuals 

 

  • Executive Power & Civil Liberties  

  • Trump v. Slaughter  

  • Issue: whether statutory removal protections for members of the FTC – and agencies like it – “violate” the separation of powers.  

  •  (1) The Court’s emergency orders this summer (2) growing belief in the unitary executive theory (3) Likely to overrule Humphrey’s executor 

  • Consequences: Collapse of independent agencies and with it, governing stability.  

 

What c3s can do: 

  • Supreme court advocacy is nonpartisan—you are free to stand for or against cases before any court or get involved in the cases.  

  • Litigation at the supreme court: c3s are often the best voice and represent groups who otherwise would not be heard or could not bring such large scale cases 

  • Amicus briefs  

  • Educating the public about cases and impacts of opinions 

As you know c3 public charities may engage in lobbying and there are ways through lobbying that can affect the courts at the federal or maybe the state level 

  • Nominee advocacy—Advocate for or against nominees to supreme court (lobbying) 

  • Remember the lower district courts and circuit courts as well 

  • Remember the lobbying rules if you are a c3: must track and report your lobbying the IRS and stay within your lobbying limits. Great place for c4s to get involved because they can lobbying in an unlimited amount. 

  • Ethics advocacy—ask congress for more oversight or ethics rules (Lobbying if it will require a legislative vote).  

Resources