Washington Examiner Reports on Brewer Client NRA’s Legal Victory Against ATF
April 2, 2024 – The Washington Examiner reported on Brewer client NRA and its recent legal victory over the ATF. A Texas court recently enjoined the “pistol brace rule” from taking effect against NRA members. The legal win is the most expansive ruling of its kind to date – protecting millions of NRA members across the nation.
As reported in the article, “Big Win for NRA in Battle with Biden’s ATF,” “The decision followed other court rulings protecting the 3.7 million members of three other gun groups from the ATF action that abruptly changed the definition of rifles to include the AR pistols, among the most popular firearms in the country. Under the new rules, they will be taxed and registered.”
“The NRA will continue to play offense against this unconstitutional rule,” says NRA interim EVP and CEO Andrew Arulanandam. “This is yet another example of the NRA fighting for its members — and protecting the constitutional freedoms in which they believe.”
Hawaii Media Profiles Students, Brewer Foundation Debate Program
March 30, 2024 – Hawaii News Now reports that students from Kealakehe High School have advanced to the "Sweet 16" round of a global competition sponsored by the Brewer Foundation and New York University. If the students advance to the next round of the International Public Policy Forum (IPPF), they'll win an all-expenses-paid trip to compete in the finals in New York City.
According to the report, the high school has been participating in the IPPF for the last twelve years. Coach Justin Brown said he has always encouraged his students to sign up because the competition instills valuable skills that transfer to other academic programs.
“It’s kind of our fall practice because they have to do a lot of research and understand argumentation. It’s very detailed writing using precise language,” he said.
“Being a lifelong learner has always been my goal and I think the research aspect of IPPF…in general encompasses that value," said student Mei Kanada. "Knowing how to research different topics and perspectives you don’t necessarily agree with or know about is valuable because it teaches you and opens you up to so many different things."
The IPPF's advancing "Elite Eight" teams will be announced on April 1, 2024. The IPPF World Champion is awarded a $10,000 grand prize from the Brewer Foundation.
Read the report (subscription required).
Law360 Reports on Legal Win for NRA
March 29, 2024 – Law360 reported today on a legal win for the NRA in its lawsuit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) over the “pistol brace rule.”
The NRA filed suit in the Northern District of Texas on July 3, 2023, against the ATF, the U.S. Department of Justice, and Steven M. Dettelbach, in his official capacity as director of ATF, seeking to enjoin the ATF’s unconstitutional rule, which would have reversed its long-standing position that pistol braces do not transform pistols into rifles subject to onerous registration and taxation requirements under the National Firearms Act.
As reported, “The court found that the final rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations, and that the NRA had a "substantial likelihood" of succeeding on the merits. According to the opinion, the gun rights group also demonstrated that it had Article III associational standing to bring the action on behalf of its members.”
According to Law360, the NRA successfully argued its members face irreparable harm from the new rule, which subjects law-abiding gun owners to penalties, fines, and potential prison sentences for the use of a brace.
"The NRA has emerged as a leading voice in opposition to this unlawful attempt to limit Second Amendment freedom," said NRA counsel William A. Brewer III in a statement. "When it was determined NRA members could not benefit from other injunctions, the association moved to the tip of the spear in the advocacy and prevailed in obtaining sweeping relief for its members."
Joining Brewer in representing the NRA are firm partners Noah Peters and Matthew H. Davis.
Read more here.
Brewer Firm Scores Legal Victory for NRA in “Pistol Brace” Lawsuit
March 29, 2024 – The National Rifle Association of America (“NRA”) announced a major legal victory today, as a Texas court enjoined the “pistol brace rule” from taking effect against its members. The legal win is the most expansive ruling of its kind to date – protecting millions of NRA members across the nation.
The NRA filed suit in the Northern District of Texas on July 3, 2023, against the ATF, the U.S. Department of Justice, and Steven M. Dettelbach, in his official capacity as director of ATF (“Defendants”), seeking to enjoin the ATF’s unconstitutional rule, which would have reversed its long-standing position that pistol braces do not transform pistols into rifles subject to onerous registration and taxation requirements under the National Firearms Act.
Today, U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay agreed with the NRA that it has “associational standing” to pursue this case because it is a traditional membership organization whose members rely on the NRA to protect their gun rights. In other words, the NRA is the voice of its members. Further, Judge Lindsay applied the Fifth Circuit’s earlier holding in Mock v. Garland that the ATF failed to go through an appropriate notice-and-comment period before issuing its “pistol brace rule,” making major revisions to the rule without acknowledging the hundreds of thousands of negative comments from the NRA and its members across the nation, thus rendering it likely unlawful.
“The NRA has emerged as a leading voice in opposition to this unlawful attempt to limit Second Amendment freedom,” says NRA counsel William A. Brewer III. “When it was determined NRA members could not benefit from other injunctions, the Association moved to the tip of the spear in the advocacy and prevailed in obtaining sweeping relief for its members.”
Joining Brewer in representing the NRA are firm partners Noah Peters and Matthew H. Davis.
Brewer Associate Named to Law360 Editorial Advisory Board
March 27, 2024 – Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors associate Alexandria Oberman has been named to Law360's 2024 Texas Editorial Advisory Board. The editorial advisory board provides feedback on Law360’s coverage and expert insight on how best to shape future coverage.
Ms. Oberman joined Brewer in 2023 after serving as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Debra H. Lehrmann, Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas. She is a graduate of Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.
Houston Public Media Reports on Texas Voting Rights Initiative
March 19, 2024 – Houston Public Media reports on warning letters sent by Brewer Storefront to two Houston-area school districts notifying them that their at large election systems used for electing school board trustees could be violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Brewer Storefront is the community service affiliate of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors.
Letters were sent to 11 Texas school districts as a part of Brewer Storefront's newly launched Texas Voting Rights Initiative. The letters request that Houston area school districts Angleton ISD and Humble ISD adopt single member district election systems that create at least one opportunity district for Hispanic voters.
The article notes that Brewer Storefront has brought several Voting Rights Act challenges against school districts and municipalities in Texas.
The article notes that, “Brewer Storefront, which has made legal challenges that prompted similar changes at five school districts in the Dallas area, said a lack of diversity and equitable geographic representation on school boards can result in disenfranchised voters, underfunding and achievement gaps for both schools and their individual students.”
The article reports that Sergio Lira, a Houston League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) leader, praised Brewer Storefront for highlighting Texas school districts that could have more equitable and reflective representation on their boards.
Houston Public Media quoted Brewer Storefront Chairman William A. Brewer III stating that, "We urge these school districts to take proactive steps in adopting election systems that comply with the Voting Rights Act and create districts that give voters of color a fair opportunity to participate in the electoral process. We believe our political institutions work best when they give all voters an opportunity to elect candidates of their choosing."
Read more here.
New Republic Reports that NRA Appears to “Notch Another Victory” at Supreme Court
March 19, 2024 –New Republic Staff Writer Matt Ford writes that Supreme Court justices appear ready to side with the NRA in its First Amendment case against former New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo.
He writes in the article following the Supreme Court arguments in the matter that, "By the end of the arguments, it was clear that whatever uncertain winds were swirling at the outset had shifted decidedly in the NRA’s favor.”
Ford writes that it is “hardly surprising” that the NRA would interpret Vullo’s actions as “unconstitutional threats,” noting that he previously wrote describing former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s campaign against the NRA as being blunt and heavy-handed, and Cuomo’s messaging about the NRA as “particularly venomous.” Ford predicted that the former governor’s “overheated rhetoric and ham-fisted tactics will backfire when the court hands down a ruling by the end of June.”
The Brewer firm has represented the NRA on this matter since its inception, advocating alongside First Amendment scholar Eugene Volokh and the ACLU.
The New York Times: Justices Seem Likely to Side with NRA in First Amendment Dispute
March 18, 2024 – The New York Times reports that a "majority of the Supreme Court appeared on Monday to embrace arguments by the National Rifle Association that a New York State official violated the First Amendment" when she encouraged banks and insurance agencies to cut ties with the gun rights organization in 2018.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, NRA v. Maria T. Vullo, in November 2023 after the Second Circuit dismissed the NRA's claims against Vullo, the former head of the New York State Department of Financial Services.
“It was a campaign by the state’s highest political officials to use their power to coerce a boycott of a political advocacy organization because they disagreed with its advocacy,” said David D. Cole, the national legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who argued on behalf of the NRA. He added that the officials’ actions had cost the group “millions of dollars.”
The Times reports that Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar described some of the NRA's claims as plausible in a friend-of-the-court brief, specifically that Vullo may have crossed a constitutional line "by coercing regulated entities to terminate their business relationships" with the NRA.
The Brewer firm has represented the NRA on this matter since its inception, advocating alongside First Amendment scholar Eugene Volokh and the ACLU.