Some supporters of the Texas law, such as state Rep. Today's decision is a marker that says every constitutional right is now at risk." “If a state can prohibit the exercise of any constitutional right that's disfavored in that state and get around federal court review by allowing private citizens to sue someone for exercising that constitutional right, then it's hard to say where this scheme ends. “While SB8 is about abortion, this private enforcement scheme implicates every other constitutional right,” said Marc Hearron, senior counsel for the Center for Reproductive Rights, on a call Friday afternoon with reporters. And while that was initially welcome news for abortion providers and activists, they quickly pivoted to sounding the alarm on how the decision can be used by other states that wish to follow Texas’ lead and pass laws related to other constitutional rights that rely on private citizen lawsuits as the enforcement mechanism. “Instead of disincentivizing states from playing such procedural games with our constitutional rights going forward, has provided a blueprint for doing so,” he said on Twitter.įriday’s decision means the legal challenge will continue in a lower federal court, where abortion providers will continue trying to block the Texas law. 8, Newsom said in a statement that his office was working on a bill with the California Legislature and attorney general to allow private citizens to sue those who manufacture, distribute or sell assault weapons or ghost gun kits. “I have no doubt that legislatures hostile to firearms and the Second Amendment will use either some or all of the tactics that Texas has used.” He warned in his brief that other states like New York were already experimenting with ways to limit gun access. Jaffe, a lawyer for the Firearms Policy Coalition, said Friday after the decision. In October, a gun rights group, the California-based Firearms Policy Coalition, filed a legal brief supporting the challenge to the law arguing that Texas’ enforcement mechanism, which shields the state law from judicial review before a suit is filed, could allow other states to use the same tactic to limit gun access. “Perhaps nothing at all, says this Court.” “What are federal courts to do if, for example, a State effectively prohibits worship by a disfavored religious minority through crushing ‘private’ litigation burdens amplified by skewed court procedures, but does a better job than Texas of disclaiming all enforcement by state officials?” she said. Texas’ law was passed as Senate Bill 8 in the Legislature this year.
8 are coming” and states had already introduced legislation to target rights their legislators disagree with.
Sotomayor added that “new permutations of S.B. “The Court clears the way for States to reprise and perfect Texas’ scheme in the future to target the exercise of any right recognized by this Court with which they disagree,” she wrote. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who agreed to let the suit continue but criticized the court’s decision to leave the Texas law in effect, said the majority was straying from the court’s precedent to step in when state laws chill the exercise of constitutional rights - and allowing other states to follow suit. The Texas law - which states such as Florida and Ohio have recently tried to mirror with their own proposals - also promises private citizens who sue $10,000 if they win their lawsuit, which critics have denounced as a “bounty” placed on people who seek abortions or help another person get one. During oral arguments in November, most of the court’s nine justices expressed concerns specifically over the state’s unique enforcement mechanism and how it may be used to curb other constitutional rights, including gay marriage, religious freedom, freedom of speech and gun rights. Texas’ law bars abortions before many know they’re pregnant - at roughly six weeks gestation - and empowers private citizens rather than state officials to enforce it by suing individuals and abortion providers. Supreme Court’s decision Friday allowing Texas’ abortion law to remain intact creates a roadmap for states that may seek to limit other constitutionally protected rights, legal experts warn. Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.