Eric Shear

PLF Client Kelly Lyles, a Seattle artist, epitomizes many of the values of her city—vibrant, quirky, creative. She used to cruise around in “Leopard Bernstein,” her leopard-print sedan festooned with plastic figures of safari animals. Her house is like an alternate dimension where the art- work adorning every surface seems to be observing you, rather than the other way around. Kelly is quintessential Seattle.

Prior to the Fourteenth Amendment, the Bill of Rights checked only the abuses of individual rights by the federal government, and even after the Civil War there were few federal restraints on state powers. Individuals could look only to state courts and their constitutions to check abuses by state legislatures.

PLF client Rose Knick never expected to make constitutional history. If she had her way, she would live quietly, raising horses and other livestock on her 90-acre farm in rural Pennsylvania. 

On October 10, 2016, Michael and Cathy Zito’s beach home at Nags Head, North Carolina, burned to the ground. Luckily no one was hurt, but as the Zitos were about to discover, the sadness of losing their dream home was nothing compared to the bureaucratic nightmare that followed.

Professor Andrew Kahrl writes in The New York Times that beachfront property owners have created “anti- social” and “environmentally destructive” barriers to beach access. He calls on Congress to dedicate all beaches to the states for public use.

From the California coast to the Florida Keys, Americans treasure our nation’s beaches for their breathtaking beauty. But in the name of public access, and sometimes in the name of conservation, many local, state, and federal government agencies go too far in dictating how that beauty is protected.

Developing effective public policy is tough, thoughtful work. There is so much to consider: What is the problem? What can be done about it? Who is best equipped (and legally

If any one characteristic could define PLF, it would be our perseverance. Our unwavering belief in the Constitution, and the individual liberty it protects, steels us even when we face the longest odds. When we defended the Sacketts’ right to challenge outrageous government threats and bullying, it did not matter that every court had denied similar property owners their day in court. We knew that justice would win out. We were rewarded for our stubborn belief in the Constitution with a unanimous Supreme Court victory in 2012.

Ask any child navigating the world of playground politics and they’ll tell you there are few things worse than a bully. A bully can take away your free- dom and dignity to dictate their will or get you to fall in line.

The struggle for liberty is old, yet it must be continually renewed—because the struggle is never-ending. As the world moves slowly, fitfully, and yet inexorably toward a state of increased liberty, we must always recall Ronald Reagan’s words: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”  Different generations have had to employ different means of creating and defending liberty. Great philosophers like John Locke provided the intellectual ammunition to the warriors for liberty in the 17th century. The Revolutionary generation set down stirring principles and a constitutional framework. The generation that followed the Civil War extended those principles to even more Americans, especially through the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

What is nature's beauty worth? How can you put a price on a pristine beachfront or a secluded coastal alcove? Are some worth more than others? Are some worth preserving more than others?

Lashawn Robinson's oldest son, Jarod, has missed out on Hartford, Connecticut’s public magnet school lottery year after year, even though the school has the space to take him. Once a student who loved school and excelled at it, years of bullying and poor education at his neighborhood school have slowly drained the boy’s academic vigor. The reason? He’s black.