The Pelican Center for Justice is dedicated to advancing pro-freedom litigation to ensure the rights of Louisiana’s working families are protected. Aggressively litigious, anti-freedom special interests are using the courtroom to fight policy battles, which makes defending the rights of citizens all the more important. Now, more than ever, Louisiana needs liberty-focused strategic litigation, and the Pelican Center for Justice is working tirelessly to ensure the freedoms of all Louisianans are intact.
Last Spring, we shared the story of Peyman Pakdel, an Ohio small business owner who hoped to one day retire to San Francisco with his wife, Sima Chegini. Mr.Pakdel is now asking the U.S. Supreme Court to consider his case and the Pelican Center for Justice submitted an amicus curiae brief in support of his...
by Sarah Harbison, general counsel & director, Pelican Center for Justice Ursula Newell-Davis lives in New Orleans and cares deeply about the well-being of her community. Through her work as a social worker and as a mother to her own special needs son, Ursula has seen first-hand that children with disabilities and their families need...
by Sarah Harbison, general counsel, Pelican Institute In 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, a case challenging a California regulation that allows union organizers to trespass on private property and interrupt business operations. Last week, the Pelican Institute for Public Policy’s Center for Justice was pleased...
by Sarah Harbison, general counsel, Pelican Institute On Monday, the Louisiana Supreme Court issued a ruling in Gov. John Bel Edwards v. Louisiana State Legislature, et al. The court vacated the district court’s ruling that the statute authorizing the legislature’s petition to terminate the governor’s public health emergency order was unconstitutional and sent the case...
by Sarah Harbison, General Counsel at the Pelican Institute As many of us were completing our Thanksgiving Day meal prep on Wednesday, Nov. 25, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a temporary injunction against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s executive order limiting religious service attendance. The ruling is something Louisiana lawmakers and citizens alike should take...
by Joshua Levine Since the passage of bold bipartisan criminal justice reforms in 2017, Louisiana’s lawmakers have continued working on this issue. The aim of these reforms were to sensibly reduce the state’s incarceration rate to improve public safety and recidivism. Louisiana currently leads the nation with 719 individuals imprisoned per 100,00 residents. Even though...
What if the government forced you to rent out property you own to a virtual stranger for his or her lifetime? The Pelican Institute’s Center for Justice recently filed an amicus curiae brief in support of Peyman Pakdel’s petition for rehearing en banc pending in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The lawsuit implicates the...
CNN political analyst Sarah Isgur recently joined Pelican Institute General Counsel Sarah Harbison on the PeliCast to discuss whether state and local governments’ emergency responses to the COVID-19 outbreak pass constitutional muster. In New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell issued an executive order on March 16 cancelling all public and private gatherings. Governor John Bel Edwards...
We’re one week away from the Pelican Institute for Public Policy’s Solutions Summit 2.0. Next Thursday, January 30 at the Hilton Capitol Center in Baton Rouge, join state and national policy leaders as we unveil solutions to the biggest problems facing Louisiana. Today, we’re excited to share our all-star speaker line-up for the event, which includes legislators...
There’s still time to register for the Pelican Institute for Public Policy’s Solutions Summit 2.0 on January 30 at the Hilton Capitol Center in Baton Rouge. Sign up by clicking here today and help us spread the word so your friends, colleagues and family can reserve their spots before the event sells out. At Solutions...
The New Year brings with it a fresh start and opportunities to shed old habits and forge a new path to self-improvement. For many of us, that means going to the gym, eating healthier or saving more money. But, what if we apply this same concept to government? Louisiana could certainly use some self-improvement. The...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Morgan Wampold P: 985-377-7437 E: morgan@peoplewhothink.com CRITICS PLAYING POLITICS WITH CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORMS, PELICAN INSTITUTE SAYS NEW ORLEANS, La. (Sept. 17, 2019) — The following is a statement from Daniel Erspamer, chief executive officer of the Pelican Institute for Public Policy (Pelican Institute), regarding the recent criticisms of criminal...
As Louisiana lawmakers seek to make our state more inviting to job creators and seekers, there are two areas in desperate need of addressing – Louisiana’s abysmal legal and regulatory structures. From overreaching occupational licensing laws to predatory state-sanctioned litigation against the state’s largest job creators, legal and regulatory issues continue to stifle hard-working Louisiana...