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** For Immediate Release: February 28, 2025
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** The Supreme Court Just Made It Easier for the Government to Violate Your Rights—Without Paying the Price
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court has essentially handed the government a free pass to violate the Constitution ([link removed]) —without paying the price. The 7-2 decision ([link removed]) in Lackey v. Stinnie could gut civil rights enforcement and leave victims without access to justice.

In reversing the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling ([link removed]) , the Supreme Court majority has chosen to overlook the lower court’s warning that failing to require the government to pay plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees when a case becomes moot after a plaintiff wins a preliminary injunction to protect their constitutional rights could allow the government “to game the system.” In a blistering dissent that echoed amicus arguments put forth by a broad coalition of civil liberties organizations ([link removed]) that includes The Rutherford Institute, Justices Jackson and Sotomayor pointed out that the majority’s ruling “ignores Congress’s clear intent to expand access to justice.” The dissent predicted that the ruling will result in “absurditi
es,” and “facilitates the strategic mooting of cases by [the government] to avoid paying attorney’s fees.” The net result, cautioned the dissent, “will be less civil rights enforcement in the long run.”

“If the government is allowed to avoid the financial liabilities associated with violating the Constitution, then the government will violate the Constitution for as long as it can get away with it,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People ([link removed]) . “Such a practice cripples the ability of the citizenry, especially the poor and vulnerable, to effectively seek protection from the courts and hold the government accountable.”
MAKE THE GOVERNMENT PLAY BY THE RULES OF THE CONSTITUTION: SUPPORT THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM ([link removed])

Damian Stinnie was among more than 900,000 people who had their driver’s licenses automatically suspended by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) under a state law that penalized drivers for failing to pay court fines and costs which often have nothing to do with road safety or driving infractions. In July 2016, a lawsuit was filed against the DMV, alleging that the automatic suspensions violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantees of due process and equal protection. The lawsuit alleged that “hundreds of thousands of people have lost their licenses simply because they are too poor to pay, effectively depriving them of reliable, lawful transportation necessary to get to and from work, take children to school, keep medical appointments, care for ill or disabled family members, or, paradoxically, to meet their financial obligations to the courts.” For instance, one of the plaintiffs was a 24-year-old man with lymphoma who became homeless after failing to pay about $1,000 in
traffic fines.

A federal district court granted the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction to temporarily end the “unconstitutional scheme” by prohibiting the DMV from suspending driver’s licenses for unpaid court costs. The DMV, seeing the writing on the wall,” made a “robust effort to stiff the plaintiffs with respect to attorney’s fees” by asking to postpone the trial to allow the Virginia legislature to change the law, thereby mooting and ending the case. The DMV then insisted that since the issue was resolved through legislation rather than a final court-ruling, the government could not be required to pay the plaintiffs’ attorneys for their time working on the case. The Fourth Circuit ruled ([link removed]) against the government, concurring with every other of the ten circuits which have addressed the issue. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court reversed in favor of the government.

The amicus brief in Lackey v. Stinnie ([link removed]) is available at www.rutherford.org ([link removed]) . Andrew J. Pincus and Jonathan D. Stahl of Mayer Brown LLP helped advance the arguments in the brief ([link removed]) .

The Rutherford Institute ([link removed]) , a nonprofit civil liberties organization, provides legal assistance at no charge to individuals whose constitutional rights have been threatened or violated, and educates the public on a wide spectrum of issues affecting their freedoms.

This press release is also available at www.rutherford.org ([link removed]) .

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CONTACT INFORMATION
Nisha Whitehead
(434) 978-3888 ext. 604
** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

THE RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE
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Phone: (434) 978-3888
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You are receiving this email because of your interest in the work of The Rutherford Institute. Founded in 1982 by constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute is a civil liberties organization that provides free legal services to people whose constitutional and human rights have been threatened or violated. To discontinue your membership electronically, or if you feel you are receiving this message in error, please follow the link below.

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