Barr & Klein PLLC

23/07/2024

Today we filed the opening brief on behalf of the New York State Fi****ms Association, its members and several individuals in their appeal that challenges ammunition background checks in as unconstitutional under the . Enacted within days after the decision in the Bruen case two years ago, redundant background checks (complete with delays and inaccurate denials) are just another blatant attempt by the government to nullify the right to bear arms.

You can download the brief here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vHTbMrYmYxtnFnChJNrNnSnMcHNwlS52/view?usp=share_link

26/06/2024

Benjamin Barr argued before an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today that Oregon’s audio recording statute is unconstitutional under the .

26/06/2024

“Benjamin Barr, a lawyer for Project Veritas, told an 11-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle that the law violated the group's right to free speech under the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”

Project Veritas, a conservative activist group known for releasing undercover recordings of abortion providers and others, on Tuesday urged a federal appeals court to strike down an Oregon state law banning most secret recordings of in-person conversations.

20/02/2024

Today, on behalf of John C. Frank, we filed a petition for with the United States Supreme Court seeking review of his case against the law that prohibits electioneering within 300 feet of a polling place on election day. This creates zones of that are nearly 6 ½ acres in size and serve no purpose other than to empower election officials to pull up yard signs and prevent other important, inexpensive ways of campaigning – even restricting the size of bumper stickers that can pass through a zone! We hope the Court will take the case.

Download the brief here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ARu1G3il0UD30vQEmWT0AhKgeikl2kiT/view?usp=share_link

25/10/2023

Benjamin Barr and Stephen Klein won a motion to dismiss in today, confirming that the reach of the state’s recording law is limited to prohibiting the secret recording of private conversations. This ruling keeps New Hampshire law in line with principles, and we’re glad to mark another win for Project Veritas.

11/10/2023

A great win for in at the Tenth Circuit! Stephen Klein served as co-counsel for WyGO / Wyoming Gun Owners with our friend Del Kolde at the Institute for Free Speech.

13/09/2023

We’re honored to represent the New York State Fi****ms Association, Senator George Borrello, Assemblyman David DiPietro, and William Ortman in a challenging New York’s ammunition background checks and associated fees as unconstitutional under the .

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rbMEENa9GFZ6iWOTm1VZnT6nd67eSo5_/view?usp=share_link

03/07/2023

We are proud to win another one for Project Veritas, Project Veritas Action and the First Amendment. Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Oregon’s law that regulates audio recording (ORS 165.540) is facially unconstitutional because it has little to do with protecting privacy and everything to do with the suppression of undercover . This ruling permits Oregonians to gather high-value information and report it to the public without fear of criminal sanctions.

The opinion is available here:

02/05/2023

We’re honored to be part of the team that’s fighting one of today’s most important battles. The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York , under the leadership of President , is trying to turn everyday into a criminal act.

Too many in the mainstream press have equivocated or ignored the matter—some are even cheering the inquisition—because the government’s targets include Project Veritas and James O'Keefe. But this is a fight for the very heart of journalism, and a loss for one will be a loss for all.

07/12/2022

Today, Benjamin Barr argued on behalf of Project Veritas and Project Veritas Action at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that the law that regulates audio recording abridges and is unconstitutional under the .

30/11/2022

The Cowboy State Daily discusses our case with Wyoming Liberty Group against ’s no-electioneering buffer zones, decision pending at the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

The 10th Court of Appeals is still considering arguments in a lawsuit that will determine how close people can campaign around polling places. Plaintiffs believe they should be able to campaign and gather signatures much closer to polling places.

06/09/2022

Steve Klein moderated a webinar for The Federalist Society that featured a debate over the merits of Arizona’s new police recording law.

This summer, the state of Arizona passed a law that will prohibit the ability of the public and press to video record police officers in certain situations. ...

12/07/2022

Oregon's that prohibits not only secret recording but even unannounced open recording of one’s own conversations in most circumstances is not just bad policy; it’s unconstitutional under the . We’re proud to continue this fight for and the at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of Project Veritas.

27/05/2022

“One only needs to look at the DOJ's own legal filings to see that journalists have little recourse if the department decides to violate its own rules against surveilling reporters. One such example is the ongoing litigation over a warrant and FBI raid of the houses of several members of the right-wing group Project Veritas.”

We’ve repeatedly argued that legislation is necessary to resolve questions about when the Department of Justice media guidelines apply and to provide accountability in case of violations. So, what kind of accountability is there now?

18/05/2022

Yesterday Steve Klein argued at the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals that ’s no-electioneering buffer zones around polling places unconstitutionally abridge and violate the

You can listen to the argument here: https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/sites/ca10/files/oralarguments/21-8058.mp3

22/03/2022

“The litigation before this Court began when the government searched journalists’ homes and seized electronic devices containing privileged materials. While the . . . litigation proceeded, the government apparently misled the Court by omission, failing to inform it, and failing to inform the aggrieved journalists, that it had already obtained the contents of privileged emails from Microsoft. The government concealed its past privilege invasions through unjustified [secrecy] Orders, which it moved to extend even while the . . . litigation was pending. These abuses of power must not go unpunished. The free press must not go unprotected.”

21/03/2022

Today, with our friends at the Institute for Free Speech we won an excellent case for WyGO / Wyoming Gun Owners and across . The Wyoming federal district court struck down an unconstitutional campaign finance law that threatened grassroots organizations with harassment and red tape. This is Barr & Klein’s fifth lawsuit against Wyo state and local governments: so far, we are 5-0.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LS1Ar8eJ2Ee7kG5rqRv375l1mrLfdE5O/view?usp=sharing

16/03/2022

Stephen Klein published a short article with The Federalist Society that discusses a recent decision from the West Virginia Supreme Court. The court upheld an important precedent but the case hints that we may need a nationwide broadside against laws that have not been amended to comply with that precedent.

In 2001, in Bartnicki v. Vopper, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a third party who receives and pu...

27/12/2021

“The many questions in these cases should be answered by both the Justice Department and the media. For the FBI, the concern is whether it is now acting like a type of Praetorian Guard for the First Family. For the media, the concern is that some outlets are now acting like a type of state media for the Biden Administration.”

The Christmas Eve order for the New York Times to return confidential legal material from the conservative publication, Project Veritas, has led many to decry the imposition of a “prior restraint” …

13/12/2021

On Friday we filed our principal brief in Frank v. Buchanan, a cross-appeal against the law that prohibits electioneering within 100 yards of a polling place on Election Day and 100 feet of absentee polling places--including court houses and other public facilities--for 90 days in an election year. Commonly referred to as “buffer zones”, the Wyoming statute actually creates blackout zones, censoring not just bona fide electioneering but signature gathering, signs on private property, and even bumper stickers on a car passing by a polling place. This is the first such case to be considered by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals; may the win again!

12/11/2021

The President is using the Department of Justice to investigate his daughter’s missing diary. The DOJ has broken its own regulations and violated clear precedent in this asinine pursuit, even sending the FBI to seize journalists’ cell phones. We’re honored to represent Project Veritas in this historic fight; we’re concerned at just what this government might think up next.

08/11/2021

An order from the Eastern District of today in AFT Michigan v. Project Veritas affirms that Michigan law only regulates the secret recording of the conversations of others -- that is, Michigan is among the majority of states that allow individuals to record their own conversations without others’ consent.

This reconsideration follows a long, hard-fought battle that lasted more than two years, complete with an attempt at interlocutory appeal to the Sixth Circuit and presenting a certified question to the Michigan Supreme Court. After both appellate courts declined to weigh in, we especially appreciate the judge’s reconsideration here. An important ruling for the rule of and .

23/09/2021

A strong step for in , the federal district court has ruled that provisions of the state’s campaign finance regime relating to “electioneering communications” (enacted only a few years ago, against Steve Klein's testimony to the legislature) are likely unconstitutional. We look forward to seeing this case through as co-counsel with the Institute for Free Speech on behalf of WyGO / Wyoming Gun Owners.

A court issued two rulings in the case of a prominent gun rights group versus some of Wyoming's top elected officials.

09/09/2021

is at it again—investigating the causes of the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Its inquiries are far and wide, intrusively seeking information about the political opinions of online social media users. We remind Congress that its investigatory powers are not unlimited, and this round of improper questions look a lot like the ones issued during the Joe McCarthy era.

We stand ready to remind the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol of its limits on behalf of the 8kun message board. Congress may properly investigate domestic political violence, but it may not cast a fishing net so wide that it intrudes into the private political lives of ordinary Americans.

20/08/2021

The federal government cannot meaningfully enforce its policies--particularly criminal laws--without collaboration from state law enforcement. States are generally empowered under the U.S. Constitution to prohibit such collaboration, as exemplified in Missouri's Second Amendment Preservation Act.

The City of St. Louis, the federal government and gun control proponents may scream “nullification”, but it’s nothing of the sort: it’s .

We’re glad to hammer this home this week in a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the Missouri Fi****ms Coalition and a number of other state gun rights groups in the case City of St. Louis v. State of Missouri.

22/07/2021

Today the U.S. District Court for the District of ruled in summary judgment in our case Frank v. Buchanan that the state’s no-electioneering buffer zones are unconstitutionally too large for extending beyond 100 feet to 100 yards (300 feet). This properly balances and election integrity. The court upheld Wyoming’s zones around absentee polling places and declined to specifically address signature gathering as non-electioneering; issues we may have to appeal to the Tenth Circuit. But it’s a strong statement to the government that you can’t make a foot into a yard when it comes to of political engagement.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vJar9jZVSb20oVOQlrHyC_ECQErPJyWF/view?usp=sharing

02/06/2021

Campaign finance laws must be understandable and leave room for robust . The “electioneering communications” regime fails to do either, and has served as nothing more than a tool for political bushwhacking. We’re happy to join as co-counsel with the Institute for Free Speech in a suit challenging the law under the First Amendment.

The First Amendment should mean that government cannot punish Americans for speaking about public policy. Wyoming’s speech laws exceed the state’s constitutional authority and create a cloud of uncertainty for any speaker who wishes to communicate with the public about a candidate’s views.

01/06/2021

Nice to see our certiorari petition in Project Veritas Action Fund v. Rollins lead off the “petitions of the week” roundup at SCOTUSBlog.

This week we highlight cert petitions that ask the Supreme Court to consider, among other things, the scope of the First Amendment -- specifically, whether a law forbidding clandestine recordings is overbroad and whether a state may require individuals to carry identification cards labeled “SEX OF...