On Wednesday, Alaska brewery and winery owners celebrated a major court victory after a small group of PLF clients challenged a state law barring them from offering live music and other forms of entertainment—such as karaoke and DJs—a restriction that applies to breweries and wineries but not bars.

PLF attorney Donna Matias applauded the ruling, noting that “the court correctly held that the government can’t suppress protected forms of expression in service to protectionism or political compromise.”

For the first time in history, a Public Land Order is being submitted to Congress for review—a seemingly technical milestone that could reshape how the federal government manages hundreds of millions of acres of public land.

“This constitutes a positive, major shift in policy and a potential breakthrough for miners, rural communities, and anyone affected by the regulatory ‘ping-pong’ on federal lands,” said PLF federal policy director Joe Luppino-Esposito. “Access to public lands is essential to America’s energy and mineral supply. When executive actions can shut down lawful exploration overnight, it weakens investment, domestic production, and our ability to secure critical resources at home.”

In the despotic tradition of officeholders whose self-regard exceeds the bounds of their office, meet Patricia DePriest, tax assessor for Union Township in Isabella County, Michigan. DePriest believed the Pung family violated her personal vision of the law and set the wheels in motion to deprive them of their home and savings.

Now, DePriest’s overreach has become a matter for the U.S. Supreme Court. Joining local counsel Phil Ellison, who has fought home equity theft in Michigan for more than a decade, PLF is proud to represent the Pungs in their fight for justice.

The Fourth Amendment protects against warrantless “searches and seizures,” including personal and business financial records. But a new rule under the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) blatantly violates that protection for individuals involved in certain cash real estate purchases.

Earlier this week, PLF attorney Luke Wake delivered oral arguments on behalf of Celia Flowers, owner of Flowers Title Company, challenging the constitutionality of FinCEN’s new rule and the Bank Secrecy Act—which FinCEN claims to authorize its rulemaking power.

In June 2021, Russell Tidabeck and his daughter Jordan purchased American Tripoli, a 150-year-old mining company in the small town of Seneca, Missouri. The father-daughter team hoped to rejuvenate the mine and the community but hit a roadblock when a miner they had let go filed a complaint with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission alleging wrongful termination.

Russell and Jordan eventually found themselves not in a court of law, but in an in-house Commission hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ)—who isn’t actually a federal judge but rather an agency bureaucrat. After the ALJ ruled against Russell, ordering American Tripoli to pay more than $40,000 in penalties, PLF joined the fight and filed a federal appeal on Russell’s behalf—challenging the agency’s unaccountable and unconstitutional structure.

Earlier this week, PLF attorney Adi Dynar delivered oral arguments on behalf of American Tripoli, and the court has since indicated that an opinion could be expected in a few weeks.​​​​​​