Liberty Justice Center files amicus brief in Virginia source-of-funds law case
June 24, the Liberty Justice Center and the Manhattan Institute filed an amicus brief with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Lucinda LC and Wheatley v. Jay Som et al., urging the court to allow the plaintiffs to proceed with their constitutional claims. The case centers on Virginia officials enforcing the state's source-of-funds law, which prohibits landlords from selecting tenants based on the source of their funds.
Virginia opened an enforcement investigation into Lucinda LC and June Wheatley, who manage nine apartments on behalf of Wheatley’s elderly father. The plaintiffs brought suit against Virginia under the Fourth Amendment and federal law, but the federal district court dismissed the case as “unripe,” concluding that the claims were too premature to be heard in federal court.
The Liberty Justice Center and Manhattan Institute argue that the investigation and its associated costs are already imposing real hardship on the plaintiffs and their small business. The amicus brief contends that the lower court’s ripeness ruling could effectively leave the plaintiffs without any meaningful opportunity to bring their federal claims in federal court. According to the Liberty Justice Center, "No one should have to wait for the government to finish violating their rights before they can ask a federal court to step in. When a state investigation imposes real costs and legal burdens on a small business, that is not hypothetical. That is exactly the kind of hardship federal courts exist to review."
The brief also addresses the Supreme Court’s decision in Younger v. Harris, which generally requires federal courts to abstain from interfering with ongoing state enforcement proceedings. The Liberty Justice Center and Manhattan Institute say that if plaintiffs cannot sue before enforcement begins because their claims are deemed unripe, and cannot sue during enforcement because of Younger, then their federal claims may never be heard in federal court.
The amici ask the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the lower court’s ripeness decision and to grant Lucinda LC and June Wheatley their day in court. The Liberty Justice Center describes itself as a national nonprofit law firm that challenges government overreach and fights for free speech, educational freedom, and workers' rights at no cost to clients or taxpayers. The organization is known for its 2018 U.S. Supreme Court victory in Janus v. AFSCME, according to the Liberty Justice Center.