In a case with far-reaching implications across the political spectrum for free speech and the right to protest, the U.S. Supreme Court is allowing a case to move forward that could lay the groundwork for police to chill First Amendment and retaliate against nonviolent protesters.

The Rutherford Institute has come to the defense of a Florida high school valedictorian whose graduation speech was censored by school officials to alter and remove religious content. In coming to Lucas Hudson’s defense, attorneys for The Rutherford Institute warn that the school’s actions violate the rights to freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment, Florida law, and the School District’s policy, and could expose the school to a lawsuit. 

The Rutherford Institute has come to the defense of the First Amendment rights of a women’s college basketball coach who has come under fire for citing God in response to a reporter’s question, posting Bible verses to her social media account, and leading gameday devotionals. 

The Rutherford Institute is challenging unconstitutional attempts by city officials in Oregon to criminalize homelessness by prohibiting sleeping and camping in public through the use of excessive fines and criminal trespass charges. 

The Rutherford Institute is warning that Florida’s “no go zone” law, which would criminalize approaching or remaining within 25 feet of a police officer or other first responder after having been warned not to approach, fails to strike that necessary yet delicate balance between liberty and safety.

The U.S. District Court for Delaware has refused to hold government officials accountable for knowingly enforcing an eviction order against the wrong person: a blind man, who was then left homeless with his daughters during a snowstorm.

The Rutherford Institute is challenging attempts by the government to sidestep accountability and avoid having to make financial restitution for violating the citizenry’s First Amendment right to political expression, including the right to criticize Presidents Biden and Trump.

By declining to hear an appeal in Molina v. Book, the U.S. Supreme Court has failed to protect citizens from retaliation for observing or recording police activity in public. 

The Rutherford Institute is challenging the government’s efforts to censor lawful First Amendment expression by pressuring social media companies to block, ban, remove, de-platform, de-boost, restrict, or otherwise deny equal access or visibility to users.

The U.S. Supreme Court has given government officials the green light to obstruct citizens from voting at polling places based on the content of speech displayed on their clothing. Conceivably, just the act of wearing a MAGA hat, a Taylor Swift t-shirt, or other apparel that could be perceived by a poll worker as sending a political message could get one criminally prosecuted or prevented from voting in some states.

The Rutherford Institute is calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to protect free speech forums on social media from attempts by big tech companies to block, ban, remove, deplatform, demonetize, de-boost, restrict, deny equal access or visibility to, or otherwise discriminate against viewpoints of which they might disapprove.

The Rutherford Institute is warning against a growing cancel culture mindset within government agencies across the political spectrum that seeks to censor, ostracize and shun those with opposing, disfavored, or politically unpopular viewpoints.

The Rutherford Institute is once again pushing back against the U.S. Census Bureau’s efforts to force Americans to answer highly personal questions as part of its mandatory survey, including whether any members of their household suffer from mental, psychosocial, cognitive, or speech disabilities. 

The Rutherford Institute is sounding a strident warning over allowing the government unbridled authority to override the Constitution in the name of so-called “crisis management,” pointing out that such unrestricted emergency powers could very quickly become a slippery slope to a total lockdown mindset.

Weighing in on a case with far-reaching implications across the political spectrum for the future of free speech and the right to protest, The Rutherford Institute is asking the Supreme Court to ensure that protest organizers who peacefully lead First Amendment protests without intending to incite any violence are not held liable for the actions of others who engage in criminal activities at the protests.

In advance of a holiday season that could see record numbers of ancestry kits given as gifts, The Rutherford Institute is cautioning the public about the significant privacy risks associated with corporations, government agencies and hackers possibly gaining access to one’s familial DNA. 

The Rutherford Institute is sounding a renewed warning against efforts by the government to amass extensive, sensitive private information about individual citizens and their households through its mandatory American Community Survey, including questions about each household member’s sex assigned at birth, current gender (including transgender, nonbinary, or others), and sexual orientation. 

The Rutherford Institute has come to the defense of a decorated Gulf War veteran who, after fighting for freedom abroad, was punished for exercising his right to political free speech in his home state of Florida.

 In an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court in Molina v. Book, The Rutherford Institute attorneys championed the rights of legal observers and citizen-journalists to expose wrongdoing by police, arguing it is clearly established that the First Amendment protects citizens from retaliation for observing or recording police activity in public.

Stressing that the First Amendment not only affirms the right to religious freedom for people of all faiths, but it also requires that the government treat all faiths equally and not favoring or disfavoring one over the other, The Rutherford Institute has come to the defense of a Christian ministry’s right to be treated equally with other religious and charitable organizations which provide similar services.