(ADF) Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing a faith-based, pro-life, medically licensed pregnancy center filed a petition Tuesday with the U.S. Supreme Court in First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Platkin, asking the court to recognize its right to file a federal lawsuit against New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin over his unconstitutional investigation.
Platkin is targeting First Choice Women’s Resource Centers because of its faith-based, pro-life views and demanding that it identify—by name—the donors behind nearly 5,000 donations and produce up to 10 years of its internal, confidential documents. The First Amendment protects donor identities from unjustified disclosure and prohibits a state official for retaliating against speech with which he disagrees. Thus, while First Choice responded to the subpoena and produced some 2,300 pages of documents, it filed suit in federal court to stop Platkin’s attempt to obtain further documents.
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Platkin responded by filing his own lawsuit against the pregnancy center in state court asking the court to compel First Choice to turn over First Amendment protected information. Because of Platkin’s state-court filing, the lower federal courts said First Choice must pursue its federal claims in state court. ADF filed a petition with the Supreme Court asking it to grant review of the case and hold that civil rights plaintiffs do not need to litigate first in state court but may bring federal claims—the same as any other person suffering constitutional injury at the hands of a state official.
“New Jersey’s attorney general is targeting First Choice Women’s Resource Centers—a ministry that provides free ultrasounds, baby clothes, and more to its community—simply because of its pro-life views,” said ADF Senior Counsel Erin Hawley, vice president of the ADF Center for Life and Regulatory Practice. “The U.S. Constitution protects First Choice and its donors from unjustified demands for their identities and from government threats that attempt to shut down their speech because of its viewpoint.”
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“The First Amendment protects First Choice’s right to freely speak about its beliefs, exercise its faith, associate with like-minded individuals and organizations, and continue to provide its free services in a caring and compassionate environment to people facing difficult pregnancy circumstances,” Hawley added. “The lower courts have wrongly held that First Choice is relegated to state court to present its constitutional claims. That is inconsistent with civil rights law and with the First Amendment.”
In their petition, ADF attorneys explain that, without the Court’s intervention, individuals targeted by state investigative demands will be unable to raise their claims in federal court. The petition also highlights the hostility Platkin displayed against First Choice. “New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin has made no secret of his hostility towards pregnancy centers,” the brief explains. “He issued a consumer alert—drafted with the help of Planned Parenthood—complaining that such centers do not provide or refer for abortion. He also signed an open letter pledging to take legal action against pregnancy centers. The Attorney General made good on that pledge by issuing an invasive Subpoena to First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc., a collection of five medically licensed centers that offer free medical services and material support to women facing unplanned pregnancies. Though the Attorney General could not identify a single complaint, he demanded that First Choice turn over years of sensitive internal information—including donor information about nearly 5,000 contributions.”
Editor's note: This article was published by Alliance Defending Freedom and is reprinted with permission.
