The Wall Street Journal: A Unanimous Supreme Court Backs the NRA on Free Speech
May 31, 2024 – The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board writes on the unanimous opinion rendered by the Supreme Court in support of Brewer client the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) in its First Amendment case against a former New York regulator.
In the editorial, "A Unanimous Supreme Court Backs the NRA on Free Speech," the Board details the case, in which the NRA alleges that former New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo coerced financial institutions that she regulated to stop doing business with the NRA and other gun-rights groups.
Writing for the Court, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that Vullo's conduct “could be reasonably understood to convey a threat of adverse government action in order to punish or suppress speech.”
The editorial states, "Justice Sotomayor emphasizes that covert threats against private intermediaries are especially subversive of speech rights since 'intermediaries will often be less invested in the speaker’s message and thus less likely to risk the regulator’s ire.' When government officials abuse power behind closed doors, voters aren’t able to punish them at the ballot box."
The editorial continues, "The Court’s resounding ruling protects liberal and conservative advocacy alike. It puts government officials on notice that they can’t use their power to retaliate against and silence their opponents. In these hyper-partisan times, that’s an important message for the censors in the Biden Administration and those in a potential second Trump Presidency."
Read the full editorial here.
Wall Street Journal Reports on NRA Legal Victory
On March 2, 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that a state court judge dismissed the New York Attorney General’s effort to dissolve the National Rifle Association (NRA), finding that the state’s allegations did not prove the public harm required to impose a “corporate death penalty” on the NRA.
“We applaud the court’s recognition that dissolution is neither appropriate nor justified,” said William A. Brewer III, an attorney for the NRA. “We look forward to continuing the defense of the NRA—and proving that it acts in the best interests of its members and the Second Amendment freedoms in which they believe.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that the ruling by New York Supreme Court Judge Joel M. Cohen “represented a big win for the NRA.” The judge found that dissolving the NRA “could impinge, at least indirectly, on the free speech and assembly rights” of NRA members.
The NRA has been a New York nonprofit since its founding more than 150 years ago. The Journal reported that the NRA has charged that the suit brought by NYAG Letitia James is politically motivated.
To read more, click here.
Wall Street Journal Editorial Writer Endorses NRA Lawsuit
James Freeman, assistant editor of The Wall Street Journal editorial page, wrote an editorial on November 14, 2018, in support of the firm’s client, the National Rifle Association (NRA), in its First Amendment case against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Department of Financial Services.
On November 6, 2018, Judge Thomas J. McAvoy upheld the NRA’s First Amendment freedom-of-speech claims – the crux of its complaint against the State of New York. The opinion piece, “The NRA Will Have Its Day in Court,” underscores the key themes of the NRA’s case and summarizes what has become one of the most closely-watched cases of its kind.
Freeman writes, “...no elected official in the country has more aggressively sought to limit free speech rights than Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Now he will have to answer for it in court.”
Freeman continues, “There is an enormous interest for all Americans in making sure that a politician like Mr. Cuomo cannot abuse his authority to silence law-abiding citizens with whom he disagrees.”
The Wall Street Journal Reports on Firm Matter
Wall Street Journal Assistant Editorial Page Editor James Freeman wrote on August 27, 2018, about one of the firm’s current matters – the NRA’s lawsuit against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state Department of Financial Services (DFS). The lawsuit alleges the state violated the NRA’s First Amendment Rights in connection with regulatory guidance issued to financial institutions urging them not to do business with the NRA. Freeman writes that the ACLU sided with the NRA by filing an amicus brief in federal court in New York.
Freeman writes in part, “New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has earned a new opponent in his assault on liberties enumerated in the Bill of Rights. Better late than never, the American Civil Liberties Union is standing up against Mr. Cuomo’s abuse of the National Rifle Association. The happy result could be not just expanded liberty in New York but safer financial institutions as well.”
Wall Street Journal Opinion Piece Focuses on Lawsuit Filed by the Firm
The Wall Street Journal published an opinion piece on May 15 by James Freeman, assistant editor of the WSJ editorial page, in support of a lawsuit filed by the firm. The piece, “The NRA vs. Authoritarianism,” explores an alleged effort by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) to attack the First Amendment rights of the National Rifle Association (NRA) through “guidance” (to not do business with the NRA) provided to businesses that are regulated by DFS.
Mr. Freeman writes, “Read the lawsuit filed on Friday by the National Rifle Association against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, his Department of Financial Services, and its Superintendent Maria Vullo. Also check out the governor’s April 19 press release on the topic. Then imagine that the target of Mr. Cuomo’s recent assault on political speech is anyone other than the gun-rights group.”
The Freeman opinion piece continues, “…it’s wrong to use powers intended to ensure the health of financial institutions to silence those with whom the governor disagrees on public policy. The main “reputational risk” here for financial companies is that they will serve clients who are unpopular in the governor’s office. If Mr. Cuomo can then freeze the otherwise law-abiding clients out of the financial system, he can put them out of business. That’s tyranny, and if the Cuomo precedent stands against the NRA, count on it being used against other controversial speakers in the future.”
The Wall Street Journal Reports on Firm Case in Los Angeles, CA
The Wall Street Journal reported on one of the firm’s current cases in Los Angeles, CA. The article, “Life Insurer Faces Off Against African-American Church in Battle Over Rates,” dated September 1, 2017, focuses on issues relating to a life insurance program that benefits members of the South Los Angeles community. As reported in the WSJ, the case “sheds light on the once-hot use of ‘investor-owned’ life insurance for nonprofit fundraising.”
Wall Street Journal: Judges Block Immigrant Laws in Texas, South Carolina
July 23, 2013 – The Wall Street Journal reports that the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an ordinance by the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch that sought to bar landlords from renting to immigrants living in the U.S. without legal documentation.
The judges concluded that the ordinance illegally interfered with the federal government’s enforcement of immigration laws. The article noted that the suburbs received national attention after first attempting to enact the law in 2006, citing an influx of undocumented immigrants.
Attorney William “Bill” Brewer, who represented plaintiffs challenging the ordinance, said the law was motivated by community members who were apprehensive about the growing Latino population.
“It’s not within the power of a municipality to slow down or change the ethnic composition of their communities through an effort to regulate immigration,” he said.
Read more here.
The Wall Street Journal: Marriott Loses Trendy Waikiki Hotel
August 29, 2011 — The Wall Street Journal reports that, in a "dramatic move," the owners of the Waikiki Edition in Hawaii installed new management and changed the signs and locks on their property overnight to reflect a new name, the Modern Honolulu. The report states that the "changes were made in spite of a contract that allows Marriott [International Inc.] to run the hotel as an Edition for 30 years."
William A. Brewer III, counsel for M Waikiki LLC, the hotel owner, told the Journal that his clients have the legal right to terminate the contract, alleging that Marriott is mismanaging the property.
The Journal reports that, in a legal filing in May in New York Supreme Court, M Waikiki claimed Marriott "had failed to make the flashy new Edition hotel brand a success, resulting in the Waikiki location underperforming relative to its market." The owners said further that occupancy for the fourth quarter of 2010 had been 30% — well below the 62% rate predicted by Marriott.
To read the full report, click here.