Owen Yeates

[Owen Yeates @OwenYeates]

A nice discussion by @CatoInstitute about its amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to grant the petition for certiorari I filed on behalf of @akpolicyforum.
https://t.co/CSXM7ukqA0

[Owen Yeates @OwenYeates]

A recap of the Tuesday hearing on the motions for preliminary injunction and to dismiss. At stake is whether the government can avoid constitutional rights, and control anything a group might do or say, simply by making it a condition of incorporation.

[Institute for Free Speech @InstFreeSpeech]

“The government, as a requirement of getting corporate existence, could say that you can’t speak about politics,” said IFS Sr. Atty @OwenYeates. “That’s a terrifying idea.” More on our challenge of HI's Act 11 with @grassroothawaii, via @CourthouseNews: https://t.co/gg2el9PJzn

[Tom Garrett @TomGarrettIFS]

As Massachusetts weighs a ballot measure to strip many groups of their right to speak on candidates and ballot questions, @InstFreeSpeech's @OwenYeates and @ChipMiller76 told the AG why it violates the Constitution and MA's Declaration of Rights:
https://t.co/NbFcBkv2dp

[Tom Garrett @TomGarrettIFS]

ICYMI, here's the excellent @FedSoc discussion "Corporate Speech in the Crosshairs," featuring @InstFreeSpeech Senior Attorney @OwenYeates. This is a timely topic in free speech law, as several states look to suppress or silence collective speech:

https://t.co/FxML3GlJsk

[Tom Garrett @TomGarrettIFS]

We don't lose speech rights when we join together. Yet the "corporate power reset" would punish nonprofits, unions, and advocacy groups for speaking. Via @dcexaminer, @InstFreeSpeech's Tiffany Donnelly explains why it's censorship by another name: https://t.co/y7MqICt4Wi

[Owen Yeates @OwenYeates]

The ACLU filed an amicus brief on behalf of our client, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, showing how laws like Act 11 will “impoverish[] public discourse by preventing … civil society organizations from promoting their views on the issues of the day.”
https://t.co/UGglzp3qby

[Tom Garrett @TomGarrettIFS]

New, great coverage from @Reason on the @InstFreeSpeech lawsuit on behalf of @grassroothawaii, challenging a new Hawaii law that strips groups of political speech rights, with comments from IFS Senior Attorney @OwenYeates, @UniteForPrivacy, and more: https://t.co/xD65PTscab

[Tom Garrett @TomGarrettIFS]

Great thread. The underlying article is about a proposal in Oregon similar to the one that @InstFreeSpeech is challenging in Hawaii on behalf of @grassroothawaii. The article includes quotes from @OwenYeates and @CommishSmith, with citations to @UniteForPrivacy as well.

[Owen Yeates @OwenYeates]

It was an honor to have so many amicus briefs supporting our request that the Supreme Court hear our case in Alaska. The Court has now requested responses from the state and the group that filed the complaint against our client.

[Institute for Free Speech @InstFreeSpeech]

A dozen amicus briefs have been filed urging the Supreme Court to hear our First Amendment challenge on behalf of @akpolicyforum after an AK state ruling treated the think tank’s educational work on ranked-choice voting as regulated campaign activity. Read more below ⬇️

[Owen Yeates @OwenYeates]

A great piece by our client explaining why it challenged a law that will silence it and groups like it.

[Institute for Free Speech @InstFreeSpeech]

Hawaii residents do not lose their First Amendment rights simply because they pool their resources to make sure their voices are heard. Dr. Keli'i Akina explains why @grassroothawaii filed suit to challenge Act 11 in a new op-ed, via @StarAdvertiser: https://t.co/bLYSENaOUY

[Owen Yeates @OwenYeates]

We submitted comments against this scheme to silence the groups citizens use to share the their opinions. I’m glad the state Attorney General recognized the unconstitutionality of the proposal.

[Institute for Free Speech @InstFreeSpeech]

Americans do not lose their First Amendment rights when they join together with others to speak. Last week, MA AG Andrea Campbell affirmed that by declining to certify the proposed “Act to Limit Artificial-Person Powers.” Read our statement: https://t.co/gDlqSxJOx4

[Owen Yeates @OwenYeates]

On behalf of Alaska Policy Forum, I requested on Monday that the Supreme Court take a case to determine if such a standard is unconstitutional, and to determine when speech about an important public issue that is also the subject of a ballot measure can be treated as advocacy.

[Owen Yeates @OwenYeates]

The state of Alaska used a standard against my client that said that its communications were advocacy subject to registration and reporting requirements, but that identical communications from another group were not.

[Institute for Free Speech @InstFreeSpeech]

In AK, a nonprofit can be forced to register as a campaign committee & disclose its donors simply for discussing a policy issue that happens to appear on the ballot. We're asking SCOTUS to reject that view. Read our petition on behalf of @akpolicyforum: https://t.co/CisNPDFB72

[Tom Garrett @TomGarrettIFS]

Read the @InstFreeSpeech explainer detailing the connection between Citizens United and Hawaii's new Act 11 law. Act 11 restricts political advocacy by nonprofits, unions, civic groups, and others, raising major First Amendment concerns. READ:

https://t.co/4CeiABwMmC

[Owen Yeates @OwenYeates]

A new article on the lawsuit we brought last week.

[Institute for Free Speech @InstFreeSpeech]

We're proud to represent @grassroothawaii in this lawsuit to protect the right of all Hawaii residents to join together and seek change. Read the new article from @angele_latham on our challenge to Hawaii's Act 11, via @USATODAY: https://t.co/oKtfGdUruK

[Institute for Free Speech @InstFreeSpeech]

We're proud to represent @grassroothawaii in this lawsuit to protect the right of all Hawaii residents to join together and seek change. Read the new article from @angele_latham on our challenge to Hawaii's Act 11, via @USATODAY: https://t.co/oKtfGdUruK

[Owen Yeates @OwenYeates]

@tylermartinez I recently discovered that using the Hawaiian ‘okina in Word automatically switched all the following text into TNT.

[Owen Yeates @OwenYeates]

But joining together also gave us strength. Together, we could make ourselves heard, and not just be a lone voice lost in the tumult. We could have an effect, and this gave each of us a stake in America’s grand experiment in democracy.

[Owen Yeates @OwenYeates]

There are many strong feelings about this subject, but I’m very happy to be representing this group in protecting our rights of association. To help make sure that we can freely join together.

[Institute for Free Speech @InstFreeSpeech]

🚨 JUST FILED: Our attorneys have filed a lawsuit on behalf of @grassroothawaii to challenge Hawaii's Act 11, which violates key political speech rights. Read our new press release to learn more about this case: https://t.co/2qQe5DgPx1

[Owen Yeates @OwenYeates]

These groups helped us individually, because we didn’t feel alone and isolated, completely at the mercy of the forces swirling around us.