Week in Review: Supreme Court Decides

Freedom was on the docket at the U.S. Supreme Court this year, and liberty prevailed.

“The Supreme Court struck a blow against the Administrative State”— the unelected bureaucrats who write rules with the force of law—by striking down judicial “deference” to federal administrative agencies, Goldwater VP for Litigation Jon Riches writes in the Wall Street Journal. The high court also “took the first step toward a rational approach to the problem of homelessness” by removing cities’ excuse for failing to enforce the law, Goldwater VP for Legal Affairs Timothy Sandefur adds in Fox News.

What does it all mean? During a special virtual event this week, Sandefur and Riches discussed this year’s most important cases and their ramifications for the future of liberty.

Watch the webinar here.

Municipal Malfeasance

You don’t have to look far for examples of local governments’ dereliction of duty in Arizona, Goldwater Director of Municipal Affairs Austin VanDerHeyden writes in the Arizona Daily Independent.

Consider Goldwater’s report showing that Phoenix and Pima County (which includes Tucson) poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the spiraling homelessness crisis with almost zero transparency and accountability—only for the crisis to get even worse. Or consider Phoenix and Tucson’s attempt to ram illegal “prevailing wage” mandates down businesses’ throats—mandates that would have resulted in higher costs and fewer opportunities if not for a successful Goldwater lawsuit that struck down the ordinances.

Local governments that brazenly flout the law should consider themselves warned: not on Goldwater’s watch.

Read more here.

Life-Changing Victory

Another week, another life-changing victory for patients with rare and ultra-rare diseases.

This week, Goldwater enacted our Right to Try for Individualized Treatments in North Carolina. It’s an innovative, nonpartisan reform that ensures patients suffering from severely debilitating or life-threatening illnesses can participate in the latest and most promising paradigm shift in medicine—individualized treatments that are tailor-made for each patient based on their unique genetic information—without first begging the federal government for permission.

At the start of the year, Goldwater had enacted this law in two states—with this week’s latest victory, that figure is now up to six. Innovation is on the way. And we’re not done yet.

Read more here.