Frequently Searched

Academic Transparency

Civil Forfeiture

Critical Race Theory

Right to Try

School Choice

Our Cases

Fighting in Courtrooms Across the Country

The Goldwater Institute frequently takes the fight for liberty to court. Through our Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation, we litigate cases and file briefs to advance freedom and defend individual rights across the country, on issues ranging from free speech and property rights to school choice and equal protection under the law, and much more.

We opened the Scharf-Norton Center in 2007, making us the first state-based free-market think tank to deploy a team of lawyers to promote our vision in court. In the decade-plus since, the Institute’s litigation team has advocated for freedom before state supreme courts, federal courts of appeal, and even the U.S. Supreme Court. Here are some of the cases we are working on today:

Case Name & Description
Filing Date
Issue Area
Status
Case Name & Description Unelected Egg Bureaucrats’ Illegal Power Grab Boils Over
Krueger v. Arizona Department of Agriculture
Filing Date November 16, 2023
Issue Area - Constitutional Rights
- Featured Cases
- Limited Government
Status Last Step:
Filed Complaint

Next Step:
Await AZDA’s Response
Case Name & Description Upholding Arizonans’ Right to Hold the Judiciary Accountable
Knight, et al. v. Fontes
Filing Date September 5, 2023
Issue Area - Constitutional Rights
Status Last Step:
Filed Special Action Petition with Arizona Supreme Court

Next Step:
Await Fontes response and decision on whether Court will hear the case
Case Name & Description Taking Out the Trash: Goldwater Fights the Garbage Bureaucrats
Hedrick v. Holiday Island
Filing Date August 22, 2023
Issue Area - Constitutional Rights
- Featured Cases
- Jobs & Economy
Status Last Step:
Filed complaint.

Next Step:
Awaiting city's response.
Case Name & Description Fighting New Jersey’s Unconstitutional Assault on Parental Rights
Platkin v. Marlboro Township Board of Education
Filing Date August 14, 2023
Issue Area - Constitutional Rights
- Featured Cases
Status
Case Name & Description Defending a Maine Mom’s Constitutionally Protected Parental Rights
Lavigne v. Great Salt Bay Community School
Filing Date April 4, 2023
Issue Area - Constitutional Rights
Status Last Step:
Filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Maine.

Next Step:
Waiting for the School Board to respond to the complaint.
Case Name & Description What Are the City of Phoenix and Its Union Enablers Hiding?
Goldwater Institute v. City of Phoenix
Filing Date March 1, 2023
Issue Area - Constitutional Rights
Status Last Step:
Filed complaint and application for order to show cause.

Next Step:
Prepare for possible show cause hearing and begin briefing.
Case Name & Description Fighting Super Bowl Censorship
Paulin v. Gallego
Filing Date January 9, 2023
Issue Area - Constitutional Rights
- Free Speech
- Limited Government
Status Last Step:
Briefing underway.

Next Step:
VICTORY!
Case Name & Description Defending Donor Privacy Against Unconstitutional AZ Prop 211
Center for Arizona Policy v. Hobbs
Filing Date December 15, 2022
Issue Area - Constitutional Rights
- Free Speech
- Limited Government
Status Last Step:
Filed motion for preliminary injunction.

Next Step:
Briefing underway.
Case Name & Description Demanding That Phoenix Officials Enforce the Law in Massive Homeless Encampment
Brown v. Phoenix
Filing Date October 4, 2022
Issue Area - Jobs & Economy
- Property Rights
Status Last Step:
Awaiting decision

Next Step:
VICTORY!
Case Name & Description Protecting a Falsely Accused Mom’s Right to Due Process
Sarra L. v. Faust
Filing Date July 20, 2022
Issue Area - Constitutional Rights
Status Last Step:
Filed opening brief.

Next Step:
Briefing underway.
View More

Freedom is not a partisan issue.
Freedom is an American issue.

Submit Your Case to Goldwater

Donate Now

Help all Americans live freer, happier lives. Join the Goldwater Institute as we defend and strengthen freedom in all 50 states.

Donate Now

Since 1988, the Goldwater Institute has been in the liberty business — defending and promoting freedom, and achieving more than 400 victories in all 50 states. Donate today to help support our mission.

We Protect Your Rights

Our attorneys defend individual rights and protect those who cannot protect themselves.

Need Help? Submit a case.
Join our pro-bono attorney network.

Get Connected to Goldwater

Sign up for the latest news, event updates, and more.