Brief for Respondants, LSC v. Velazquez
Legal Services E-lert
Bibliographic Info:
The Plaintiffs in Velazquez, et al. v. Legal Services Corporation (LSC), represented by the Brennan Center for Justice, filed their brief in the Supreme Court on July 17, 2000. Plaintiffs urge the Court to affirm the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which declared unconstitutional the 1996 Congressional appropriations restriction that bars LSC-funded lawyers from representing clients in challenges to welfare statutes or regulations. The Court has set oral argument for October 4, 2000. Three briefs amicus curiae were also filed supporting the Plaintiffs. The American and New York Civil Liberties Unions, along with other organizations, argue that the First Amendment prohibits the government from using its funding power to burden private speech of legal services clients in this way. The American Judicature Society filed a brief explaining that the ban on challenging welfare laws unconstitutionally intrudes upon the separate powers of the judicial branch of the federal government. Finally, almost forty organizations, including four state bar associations, several local bar associations, and groups such as NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Children’s Defense Fund, and the American Association of Retired People, filed a brief describing ethical concerns raised by the ban on challenging welfare laws and describing the important role of LSC-funded lawyers in representing welfare claimants. Brief for Respondants, LSC v. Velazquez, (S. Ct. 2000) (Nos. 99-603, 99-960) on file at the Brennan Center for Justice.