newsletter 10/26/22

 Firing on all cylinders as the Midterms near!

Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection
GEORGETOWN LAW

Less than two weeks until mid-terms, and our work to protect democracy is in full swing!

Today, on behalf of a bipartisan group of former public officials, former judges, and election experts from Pennsylvania, ICAP filed a Supreme Court amicus brief in Moore v. Harper, the blockbuster case that carries the potential to redefine American democracy as we know it. Our brief urges the court to reject a broad reading of the so-called independent state legislature theory, which would give partisan state legislatures the power to draw congressional redistricting maps without being subject to state court review for compliance with state constitutions.  Documenting the increased threats to election workers and elected officials that are driving them from office to be replaced by those who deny the results of the 2020 presidential election, we argue that if bad-faith actors have unilateral authority over redistricting, the consequences could be entrenched party rule that does not represent the will of the voters.

ICAP also continues to advise public officials and community members about voter intimidation, threats, and unlawful paramilitary organizations that threaten democratic processes.  Axios covered our recent briefing of mayors and police chiefs here.   We also hosted our second regional convening on political violence and threats to democracy in the Pacific Northwest in September, attended by nearly 80 public and community leaders.  One attendee described it as “one of the best conferences I’ve ever been to…if by ‘best’ I mean profoundly troubling and world-shaking.”  And we continue to put out fact sheets to help election officials prepare for not just the mid-terms, but for the 2024 elections as well, including this one warning about the rise of the “constitutional sheriffs” movement.  This fringe movement of sheriffs who believe they are the highest law enforcement authority in their jurisdictions, answerable only to the Constitution as they interpret it, includes election deniers who seek to meddle in election administration and surveil voters.  Learn more about it here.

In our continuing efforts to combat political violence, we are heartened by another historic win against an unlawful paramilitary group.  Partnering in litigation with District Attorney Raúl Torrez, in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, the court there ordered the “New Mexico Civil Guard” and its officers and members to stop publicly operating as a military unit or acting as law enforcement, granting all the relief ICAP sought.  We’re also supporting the District Attorney in King County, Washington, who is defending his county election officials’ decision to take down false and misleading signs outside ballot dropboxes, intended to intimidate voters from using them.

In other areas of ICAP’s litigation, we continued our run of victories when Maryland’s high court rejected a challenge seeking to exclude student voices from the Howard County school board. ICAP stepped in to defend the Board against this challenge after the board’s sole student member cast a decisive vote against reopening schools during the height of the COVID pandemic.  We’re also continuing to litigate against unlawful pretrial practices in criminal cases in Prince George’s County, Maryland, which result in arrestees being detained for lengthy periods even after a judge has determined that they can be released.  With co-counsel Civil Rights Corps, our case has received attention not only from the Washington Post, but also Fiona Apple.  And, on behalf of more than 40 former prosecutors, we’re supporting a prisoner on death row who was convicted after prosecutors in Louisiana failed to disclose evidence suggesting that he may not have been responsible for the murder of a prison guard.

On the immigration front, we cheered when DHS officially rescinded the 2019 Public Charge Rule, another Trump-era immigration priority that ICAP successfully sued to stop.  Law-abiding immigrants should now have a fair chance at obtaining green cards that are so crucial to their ability to work and contribute to their communities.

And finally, we hope you’ve found useful the analysis of ICAP’s Executive Director Mary McCord that has been regularly featured in network and print news coverage of the January 6 Committee hearings and criminal investigation, the Mar-a-Lagoinvestigation, and other pressing legal issues of the day.  Read Mary’s insightful Mar-a-Lago interview with the New Yorker’s Isaac Chotiner here.

As we head into the holiday season, we hope you’ll keep ICAP in your end-of-the-year giving plans.  Online gifts can be made easily at this link. We’re grateful to all of our supporters who have made the last five years possible and who sustain ICAP into the future!

Keep up with ICAP on Twitter via @GeorgetownICAP; and suggest what we should take on next via reachICAP@georgetown.edu.With thanks for your continued support, The ICAP Team.