August 19, 2024 – Law360 reports on an amicus brief filed by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) in support of Brewer client the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). As reported, “A former New York state official isn't immune from the National Rifle Association’s suit claiming she violated the group's rights by pressuring financial institutions to cut ties with it, a free speech group told the Second Circuit on Monday, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in the dispute.”
The report says that, in an amicus brief filed in support of the NRA, FIRE said granting former New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo qualified immunity “would telegraph just how officials can avoid constitutional limits by slightly modifying or softening their coercive statements.”
In a unanimous decision in May, the U.S. Supreme Court said the NRA plausibly alleged that Vullo violated the group’s First Amendment rights by coercing DFS-regulated banks and insurers into cutting ties with the NRA. The NRA and Vullo filed Supplemental Letter Briefs on July 29, 2024.
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