Today, NetChoice, represented by former Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller of the law firm Lehotsky Keller, argued against the State of Texas in the 5th Circuit. After a federal district court enjoined Texas HB 20 for likely violating the First Amendment last year, the State appealed to the 5th Circuit, which heard oral arguments on May 9, 2022 (a recording can be found on the 5th Circuit’s website here).
“Since the lawsuit began, Texas has shifted its arguments in each filing and in each hearing—but as today’s hearing made clear, no matter the State’s efforts to dress up its unconstitutional law, HB 20 is simply unconstitutional,” said Chris Marchese, Counsel at NetChoice.
“The State’s startling claim that lawmakers can unilaterally transform private businesses into common carriers would gut the First Amendment—which is why no court has ever adopted Texas’s view and why no court ever should.”