On Monday, The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, urging it to quash a subpoena issued by the New Jersey attorney general against First Choice Women’s Resource Centers. The institute argues that the subpoena aims to silence organizations that disagree with the state.
“New Jersey seems to be trying to harass and intimidate organizations and chill the First Amendment-protected free speech rights of Americans by demanding the private and constitutionally-protected information of donors,” stated David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute. He added, “If the New Jersey attorney general can do this to First Choice, he can and will do it to others with whom he disagrees.”
The subpoena demands that First Choice Women’s Resource Centers disclose its donors and provide up to ten years of internal documents, despite no substantive evidence of wrongdoing. According to The Buckeye Institute's brief, "the issuance of this subpoena—even if it is ultimately quashed—severely chills First Amendment rights because individuals will now fear that their charitable contributions to organizations engaged in controversial issues will be subjected to government scrutiny and possible, if not likely, retaliation."
First Choice Women’s Resource Centers is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom.