Chris Wiest, Attorney at Law

04/01/2026

A few weeks ago, I posted about a free speech case (I have a few of them) against the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission. The decision came down today with a win for our client in the Sixth Circuit.

Link in the comments.

03/05/2026

Imagine a judicial candidate running for office in Kentucky, who says something to the press in the course of that campaign, which is factually true, but implies something about the judicial conduct commission that they do not like (including "downplaying" a past action they took).
Can they punish that candidate for that speech?
Can they call a truthful statement false, have their representative admit that they have no evidence that it is false under oath, but continue, in Orwell 1984 fashion, to call it false in briefing?
What if I told you that they routinely go after conservative candidates for judicial office for their campaign speech (indeed, I have had to successfully sue them in cases with decisions in 2014, 2016, 2022), while letting a Democrat judge who had s*x with someone under supervision off with a private reprimand so the public never even knows their name?
Would someone fairly assume that they are partisan actors pursuing a partisan agenda on these facts?
You might think that this is some sort of fictional work, but today, in the Sixth Circuit, at 2:00 p.m., I am arguing the first of two First Amendment cases we have in that court being argued over the next two weeks, over speech policing in campaigns, by the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission.

11/26/2025

Today, after four days of trial, my colleagues and I received a permanent injunction in West Virginia, in a detailed 75 page order, regarding the requirement to offer religious exemptions to school vaccine requirements.

07/25/2025

Nice win in West Virginia today for religious liberty!!

With John H. Bryan, Attorney at Law and Aaron Siri!

A judge granted a preliminary injunction allowing three students to attend school with a religious exemption to the state’s school vaccination law.

03/31/2025

In 2022, Joe Fischer ran for Kentucky Supreme Court and Bob Winter ran for Kentucky Court of Appeals. The Judicial Conduct Commission went after them for identifying their affiliations with the Republican party, using endorsements from politicians, and other speech. We sued.

This morning, we won summary judgment for Joe and Bob across the board on First Amendment grounds.

https://www.scribd.com/document/844869247/FischerDecision-3-31-25

03/17/2025

If you are evaluated in a probable cause mental health hearing eight years ago, but are never committed, do you lose your right to bear arms for life? We suggest the answer is no, and are litigating that issue in a case against the U.S. DOJ and ATF in Mach v. Garland, and recently won a motion to dismiss. Decision below.

Mach v Garland

02/07/2025

I have been pretty lax about posting on this page (sorry, its driven by being very busy). But today, in a published decision, the Sixth Circuit in a published opinion held that Andy Beshear does not have immunity when he directed Kentucky's ABC to revoke Andrew Cooperrider's license. We look forward to the Governor's deposition where he will have to answer tough questions about very bad behavior. Decision below.

09/13/2024

We just received a favorable PERMANENT injunction decision (link below) against Louisville's sidewalk buffer zone ordinance, on behalf of our clients Sisters for Life and Kentucky Right to Life. The ordinance was enacted to block a pro life ministry from engaging in sidewalk counseling and to aid the abortion clinic in Louisville.

We are so thrilled with this decision. And to former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and his office, which was critical in previous Sixth Circuit litigation over this.

09/05/2024

The Sixth Circuit just issued this unanimous published injunction pending appeal decision, in favor of our clients, the Boone, Hardin, and Jessamine Republican Counties, indicating they have a First Amendment right to spend money in favor of the constitutional amendments.

We are so pleased by this win.

Thanks to Attorney General Coleman and his office for their support.

08/29/2024

Back in July, we filed suit for the Boone, Hardin, and Jessamine County Republican parties to address the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance's prohibition on their spending funds in favor of Amendment 2 (the school choice amendment) on this November's ballot.

The District Court late last week denied a preliminary injunction, holding that the outright content-based prohibition on such speech was instead a disclosure requirement. That decision flew in the face of existing Supreme Court precedent. We immediately took an appeal, and filed for emergency relief in the Sixth Circuit. A link to that motion is below (and has some of the key pleadings from the lower court attached).

https://www.scribd.com/document/763897890/BooneCoIPA

The Sixth Circuit told KREF to respond on an expedited basis (by Tuesday at noon).

This morning, the Kentucky Attorney General, Russell Coleman, weighed in, supporting the local parties, link below. On a personal level, and a citizen, I appreciate the Attorney General's stance and leadership in protecting the First Amendment on this. My understanding is that KREF asked the AG to defend their brazen content-based restriction on speech, and the AG told them no. That brief is below.

https://www.scribd.com/document/763900524/AmicusKYOAG-BCRP

We anticipate a decision from the Sixth Circuit the end of next week.

BooneCoIPA

08/15/2024

It’s been a busy week — Monday I was in federal court in West Virginia for a preliminary injunction against West Virginia’s childhood vaccination law with colleagues at Siri & Glimstad as applied to an online student who has religious objections.

Tomorrow, Friday (8/16), at 3:00 pm, we have a preliminary injunction hearing in Frankfort, Kentucky on the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance’s attempts to prevent political parties from spending money to advocate in favor of constitutional amendments on the ballot this fall.

07/25/2024

We filed suit Monday, on behalf of the Boone, Hardin, and Jessamine Republican parties, on KREF Opinion 2024-02, which prohibits them from spending money to advocate in favor of the School Choice Constitutional Amendment. Link to the complaint below:

https://scribd.com/document/753425177/ComplaintKREFBoone

We also filed for a preliminary injunction. Link below:

https://scribd.com/document/753425774/MotionPIBooneCo-RP

We had a call today with the court, and anticipate a ruling by August 21. This isn't a close issue -- the U.S. Supreme Court has decided this issue decades ago, and not in a way favorable to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance. Government cannot control the content of political speech by political parties.