SCOTUS: NRA v Vullo - Strange bedfellows (ACLU defending NRA)

ACLU to represent NRA in NY free speech challenge​

... the ACLU's Legal Director David Cole—an experienced Supreme Court advocate—is (the Times notes) planning on arguing.

The issue in the case is whether New York financial regulatory authorities coerced banks and insurance companies to cut off ties with the NRA and thus violated the First Amendment. ...

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... We're going to talk about an issue that's gotten a lot of coverage here, National Rifle Association versus Vullo. The reason is, as of this recording yesterday, the 18th of March, was the oral argument for that case, and I attended the oral argument. We're going to talk about what I observed and what it might mean. ...
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But in NRA v. Vullo, the Court ruled unanimously that Vullo's actions as alleged by the NRA had crossed the line from persuasion into coercion. "Government officials cannot attempt to coerce private parties in order to punish or suppress views that the government disfavors," wrote Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The NRA, she said, "plausibly alleges that respondent Maria Vullo did just that."

The decision sends the case back to the 2nd Circuit, which could still give Vullo qualified immunity, the legal doctrine that shields government officials from suits like the NRA's if the misconduct alleged has not been "clearly established" in prior case law. That outcome is certainly probable, as the 2nd Circuit's original decision not only ruled that Vullo had not violated the Constitution—which the Supreme Court rejected today—but that even if she had, qualified immunity would insulate her from the NRA's claim.

It is difficult to imagine, however, a more obvious violation of the Constitution than the weaponization of government power to cripple advocacy disfavored by the state. The supposed reason for qualified immunity is that taxpayer-funded civil servants deserve fair notice that conduct is unlawful before a victim can seek recourse for those misdeeds. To argue that a government agent could not be expected to understand the contours of the First Amendment here is rather dire.
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NRA v. Vullo: A Resounding Win for Free Speech, But Will It Endure?​