Latest news with #AmericaFirstLegal
Reuters
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Conservative group sues Michigan Law Review, claiming racial discrimination
June 18 (Reuters) - A conservative legal group sued the University of Michigan's flagship law journal on Wednesday, claiming its process for selecting student editors and scholarly articles illegally discriminates against heterosexual white men by giving preference to women, minority, gay and transgender applicants. In a lawsuit filed in a Michigan federal court, the group called Faculty, Alumni, and Students Opposed to Racial Preference said it represents three unnamed tenured or tenure-track white male heterosexual law professors whose submitted articles were rejected by the Michigan Law Review. The group is also representing an anonymous white male incoming second-year Michigan law student who has applied to be a member of the law review—a competitive position that helps bolster law student resumes. FASORP has unsuccessfully sued two other top law reviews in recent years. A third case is pending. The group is represented by prominent conservative Jonathan Mitchell and lawyers from America First Legal—a group headed by Stephen Miller, President Trump's deputy chief of staff. The Michigan Law Review 'has implemented a corrupt and illegal scheme of race and sex preferences to select its student members,' according to FASORP's complaint. The law school did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suit Wednesday, nor did the Michigan Law Review Association, which is the student-run non-profit that runs the law review. The suit was not unexpected. FASORP emailed Michigan law students in March, threatening to sue if the law review did not end preferences in member and article selection and saying it would subpoena the personal statements of law review applicants. Interim Michigan Law Dean Kyle Logue called FASORP's email 'threatening, harassing, and inappropriate' in a subsequent message to students and said the law review is legally permitted to consider applicants' personal statements. FASORP's complaint alleges the law review uses students' personal statements to award positions to women, minorities, gay and transgender applicants over more qualified heterosexual white male students. And the law review is 'intentionally discriminating in favor of inferior manuscripts submitted by women, racial minorities, and homosexual or transgender authors, while rejecting better manuscripts submitted by heterosexual and non-transgender white men,' according to the complaint. FASORP made similar arguments when it sued New York University's top law journal in 2023 on behalf of a white male law student. That case was dismissed the following year. FASORP also unsuccessfully sued the Harvard Law Review in 2018 and has a pending lawsuit against the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, claiming it discriminates against white men in faculty hiring and on its top law journal. Read more: NYU law school dodges white man's lawsuit claiming law review discrimination Northwestern law school sued for discrimination against white men in faculty hiring
14-06-2025
- Politics
Lawsuit centers on power struggle over elections in Arizona's most populous county
PHOENIX -- The top elections official in one of the nation's most pivotal swing counties is suing the Maricopa County governing board over allegations that it's attempting to gain more control over how elections are administered. County Recorder Justin Heap filed a lawsuit Thursday in state court with the backing of America First Legal, a conservative public interest group founded by Stephen Miller, who is now the White House deputy chief of staff. Heap, a former GOP state lawmaker who has questioned election administration in Arizona's most populous county, has been at odds with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors for months over an agreement that would divide election operations between the two offices. After taking office in January, Heap terminated a previous agreement that was reached between his predecessor and the board. He claimed in his lawsuit it would have restrained his power to run elections by reducing funding and IT resources for the recorder's office. Last year's agreement also gave the board authority over early ballot processing, which drew criticism from Heap in his lawsuit. Heap is asking the court to undo what the lawsuit calls 'unlawful' actions by the board and to issue an order requiring the board to fund expenses he deems necessary. 'Despite their repeated misinformation and gaslighting of the public on these issues, defending the civil right to free, fair and honest elections for every Maricopa County voter isn't simply my job as county recorder, it's the right thing to do and a mission I'm fully committed to achieving,' Heap said in a statement Thursday. The board's chair and vice chair have called the legal challenge frivolous, saying Heap is wasting taxpayer money by going to court. Negotiations between the offices have been ongoing since the beginning of the year, and the board said in a statement that it appeared things were going well after a meeting in April. It was only weeks later, the board said, that Heap came back with what he called a final offer that included dozens of changes. Heap claims in the lawsuit that the board rejected his proposed agreement in late May. In a statement, America First Legal says the board separately voted on a tentative budget that shifts Heap's key duties and underfunds the recorder's office. 'From day one, Recorder Heap has been making promises that the law doesn't allow him to keep," Board Chairman Thomas Galvin said. "Arizona election statutes delineate election administration between county boards of supervisors and recorders to ensure there are checks and balances, and Recorder Heap clearly doesn't understand the responsibilities of his position.' Following President Donald Trump's 2020 loss, Maricopa County became an epicenter for election conspiracy theories. Heap has stopped short of saying the 2020 and 2022 elections were stolen, but he has said the state's practices for handling early ballots are insecure and has questioned how ballots are transported, handled and stored after they are submitted. Last year, Heap proposed an unsuccessful bill to remove Arizona from a multistate effort to maintain voter lists. Heap's predecessor, Stephen Richer, was rebuked in some GOP circles for defending the legitimacy of the 2020 and 2022 elections, in which Democrats including former President Joe Biden and Gov. Katie Hobbs won by razor-thin margins. Trump won Arizona in 2024, along with the other battleground states.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawsuit centers on power struggle over elections in Arizona's most populous county
PHOENIX (AP) — The top elections official in one of the nation's most pivotal swing counties is suing the Maricopa County governing board over allegations that it's attempting to gain more control over how elections are administered. County Recorder Justin Heap filed a lawsuit Thursday in state court with the backing of America First Legal, a conservative public interest group founded by Stephen Miller, who is now the White House deputy chief of staff. Heap, a former GOP state lawmaker who has questioned election administration in Arizona's most populous county, has been at odds with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors for months over an agreement that would divide election operations between the two offices. After taking office in January, Heap terminated a previous agreement that was reached between his predecessor and the board. He claimed in his lawsuit it would have restrained his power to run elections by reducing funding and IT resources for the recorder's office. Last year's agreement also gave the board authority over early ballot processing, which drew criticism from Heap in his lawsuit. Heap is asking the court to undo what the lawsuit calls 'unlawful' actions by the board and to issue an order requiring the board to fund expenses he deems necessary. 'Despite their repeated misinformation and gaslighting of the public on these issues, defending the civil right to free, fair and honest elections for every Maricopa County voter isn't simply my job as county recorder, it's the right thing to do and a mission I'm fully committed to achieving,' Heap said in a statement Thursday. The board's chair and vice chair have called the legal challenge frivolous, saying Heap is wasting taxpayer money by going to court. Negotiations between the offices have been ongoing since the beginning of the year, and the board said in a statement that it appeared things were going well after a meeting in April. It was only weeks later, the board said, that Heap came back with what he called a final offer that included dozens of changes. Heap claims in the lawsuit that the board rejected his proposed agreement in late May. In a statement, America First Legal says the board separately voted on a tentative budget that shifts Heap's key duties and underfunds the recorder's office. 'From day one, Recorder Heap has been making promises that the law doesn't allow him to keep," Board Chairman Thomas Galvin said. "Arizona election statutes delineate election administration between county boards of supervisors and recorders to ensure there are checks and balances, and Recorder Heap clearly doesn't understand the responsibilities of his position.' Following President Donald Trump's 2020 loss, Maricopa County became an epicenter for election conspiracy theories. Heap has stopped short of saying the 2020 and 2022 elections were stolen, but he has said the state's practices for handling early ballots are insecure and has questioned how ballots are transported, handled and stored after they are submitted. Last year, Heap proposed an unsuccessful bill to remove Arizona from a multistate effort to maintain voter lists. Heap's predecessor, Stephen Richer, was rebuked in some GOP circles for defending the legitimacy of the 2020 and 2022 elections, in which Democrats including former President Joe Biden and Gov. Katie Hobbs won by razor-thin margins. Trump won Arizona in 2024, along with the other battleground states.
Hamilton Spectator
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Lawsuit centers on power struggle over elections in Arizona's most populous county
PHOENIX (AP) — The top elections official in one of the nation's most pivotal swing counties is suing the Maricopa County governing board over allegations that it's attempting to gain more control over how elections are administered. County Recorder Justin Heap filed a lawsuit Thursday in state court with the backing of America First Legal, a conservative public interest group founded by Stephen Miller, who is now the White House deputy chief of staff. Heap , a former GOP state lawmaker who has questioned election administration in Arizona's most populous county, has been at odds with the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors for months over an agreement that would divide election operations between the two offices. After taking office in January, Heap terminated a previous agreement that was reached between his predecessor and the board. He claimed in his lawsuit it would have restrained his power to run elections by reducing funding and IT resources for the recorder's office. Last year's agreement also gave the board authority over early ballot processing, which drew criticism from Heap in his lawsuit. Heap is asking the court to undo what the lawsuit calls 'unlawful' actions by the board and to issue an order requiring the board to fund expenses he deems necessary. 'Despite their repeated misinformation and gaslighting of the public on these issues, defending the civil right to free, fair and honest elections for every Maricopa County voter isn't simply my job as county recorder, it's the right thing to do and a mission I'm fully committed to achieving,' Heap said in a statement Thursday. The board's chair and vice chair have called the legal challenge frivolous, saying Heap is wasting taxpayer money by going to court. Negotiations between the offices have been ongoing since the beginning of the year, and the board said in a statement that it appeared things were going well after a meeting in April. It was only weeks later, the board said, that Heap came back with what he called a final offer that included dozens of changes. Heap claims in the lawsuit that the board rejected his proposed agreement in late May. In a statement, America First Legal says the board separately voted on a tentative budget that shifts Heap's key duties and underfunds the recorder's office. 'From day one, Recorder Heap has been making promises that the law doesn't allow him to keep,' Board Chairman Thomas Galvin said. 'Arizona election statutes delineate election administration between county boards of supervisors and recorders to ensure there are checks and balances, and Recorder Heap clearly doesn't understand the responsibilities of his position.' Following President Donald Trump's 2020 loss, Maricopa County became an epicenter for election conspiracy theories. Heap has stopped short of saying the 2020 and 2022 elections were stolen, but he has said the state's practices for handling early ballots are insecure and has questioned how ballots are transported, handled and stored after they are submitted. Last year, Heap proposed an unsuccessful bill to remove Arizona from a multistate effort to maintain voter lists. Heap's predecessor, Stephen Richer , was rebuked in some GOP circles for defending the legitimacy of the 2020 and 2022 elections, in which Democrats including former President Joe Biden and Gov. Katie Hobbs won by razor-thin margins. Trump won Arizona in 2024, along with the other battleground states. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Washington Post
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Lawsuit centers on power struggle over elections in Arizona's most populous county
PHOENIX — The top elections official in one of the nation's most pivotal swing counties is suing the Maricopa County governing board over allegations that it's attempting to gain more control over how elections are administered. County Recorder Justin Heap filed a lawsuit Thursday in state court with the backing of America First Legal, a conservative public interest group founded by Stephen Miller, who is now the White House deputy chief of staff.
