Altshuler Berzon LLP represents individuals, labor unions, and other public interest groups in constitutional and election law litigation before federal and state courts. Our constitutional law practice centers on First Amendment and due process law, including the defense of defamation claims and other SLAPP suits, as well as affirmative free speech and due process claims. Our election law practice centers on voting rights and related cases that advocate for counting every vote and making voting more accessible, as well as cases challenging and defending ballot initiatives.
Representative matters:
- Obtained preliminary injunctions under Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act requiring the provision of Spanish-language official ballots, election materials, and assistance in 32 Florida counties that previously held English-only elections.
- Obtained preliminary injunction ordering North Carolina officials to restore to the rolls thousands of voters whose registrations were unlawfully cancelled in the weeks leading up to the November 2016 election.
- Struck down an Ohio law that would have disqualified, prior to the 2012 election, thousands of votes cast by registered voters in the right polling location but the wrong precinct due to poll-worker error.
- After obtaining a preliminary injunction under the First Amendment, obtained on appeal a ruling that three Houston ordinances that restrict the right to protest via parades and public gatherings in public parks, and that restrict the use of sound amplification equipment, violate the First Amendment.
- Obtained a consent decree requiring the City of Escondido to convert to a district-based system for electing the City Council, in place of a longstanding at-large system that had diluted the voting strength of the Latino community and had prevented them from electing candidates of their choosing.
- Obtained a permanent injunction under the First Amendment prohibiting the federal government from revoking or threatening to revoke the prescription drug licenses of California physicians on the basis of their confidential communications with their seriously ill patients regarding medical marijuana.
- Obtained an injunction requiring election officials to permit early voting in the November 2008 election in predominantly AfricanāAmerican and Latino communities of Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago, Indiana.
A more extensive description of our victories on behalf of labor unions can be found on ourĀ Firm Resume.