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Current Cases

CAC chooses the best cases to bring our ideas about the Constitution into court and secure victories in the U.S. Supreme Court, state supreme courts, and federal courts of appeal that move the law closer to text and history. Click the links below to read a summary of the cases and to view our briefs (PDF) and supporting materials.

Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, et. al. is a “judicial takings” case that involves beach restoration and renourishment. On October 5, CAC and the State and Local Legal Center filed a brief in the case on behalf of state and local government organizations, urging the Supreme Court not to create a new doctrine of “judicial takings” because it is unnecessary, impractical, and violates bedrock principles of federalism.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission involves a broad challenge to Congress’s authority to regulate campaign spending by corporations. On July 31, CAC filed a brief with the League of Women Voters of the United States, explaining that the text and history of our Constitution make clear that campaign expenditures by corporations can be subject to greater regulation than expenditures by individuals.

McDonald v. City of Chicago: On July 11, 2009, Constitutional Accountability Center filed a brief in the Supreme Court asking the Court to review a case presenting the issue of whether—and, if so, how—the Constitution protects against state infringement of the individual right to keep and bear arms recognized by the Court last year in District of Columbia v. Heller.

Padilla v. Commonwealth of Kentucky: On June 2, 2009, CAC filed a brief in the Supreme Court case of Padilla v. Commonwealth of Kentucky in support of robust due process protections for immigrant criminal defendants. Padilla raises the question whether the constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel includes advice regarding likely deportation as a result of a criminal conviction.

California v. EPA: CAC filed a brief in California v. EPA on November 24, 2008 in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on behalf of a coalition of prominent State and local government organizations to support California’s efforts to enforce its first-in-the-nation greenhouse gas emissions standards for automobiles.