Thank you so much to the anonymous author of Crime and Federalism for the touching post about economic liberty law. Because Freespace is no way affiliated with the Pacific Legal Foundation, I try to avoid blogging about my work as the lead attorney in PLF’s economic liberty project, but when a post like this comes along, I feel I should say a few words about how you can help in the fight to restore protection for economic liberty under the Constitution.
The first, and most important, thing that you can do, is talk about it. You don’t need to be a lawyer, or a law student, or anything like that, to help educate people about how the law interferes with their right to earn a living. People tend not to know how many occupations require an occupational license, for instance. Here is the California Licensing Handbook, for instance, which lists how many jobs require a license. These licensing requirements are often extremely burdensome. I am currently litigating a case for a man whose company puts up spike strips and screens to keep pigeons and squirrels and rats out of buildings. He doesn’t use pesticides, and he’s been in the business for thirty years. But the state wants him to get a Branch 2 Structural Pest Control Operator’s License. To get that license, you have to spend a 2 year apprenticeship with a company that has such a license. So my 60 year old client has to close down his business for two years to learn how to use pesticides (which he already knows, by the way, since he also has a pesticide applicator license) so he can take a test to do a job that doesn’t involve pesticide use.
People don’t realize how these sorts of laws infringe on people’s right to earn a living for themselves, or how they raise costs for consumers. Talking about this issue with your friends and neighbors is a great way to help.
Of course, another way to help is to contribute to organizations that fight for economic freedom. The Pacific Legal Foundation, the Institute for Justice, the Cato Institute, the Center for Individual Freedom—all of these are nonprofit organizations that depend on donations from people who agree with our cause. (Although liberals like to claim that we’re supported by big faceless corporations, the fact is that corporate donations make up about 15 percent of PLF’s income; the rest is private donations from folks who send us twenty bucks or a hundred bucks or something like that.)
If you are a law student, find out how you can work in a clinic, such as the University of San Diego Law School’s entrepreneurship clinic, or the University of Chicago’s entrepreneurship clinic. And—on this one I’m insistent—you must attend the Institute for Justice law student seminar, a free weekend seminar that takes place every year at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The seminar is great fun, and very educational, and the best way to get a crash course on the law of economic liberty. (Hint: if you’re a law student, and you come asking us for a job, having attended the IJ student seminar gives you a big plus in my book.)
If you’re a lawyer, call PLF or IJ and volunteer your services as local counsel. We often participate in cases in states where none of our staff is a member of that state’s bar, so we need to associate with local counsel. Having your name and number in our books will help us to reach you when we need help.
You can help also by writing amicus curiae briefs. Writing amicus briefs is a lot of fun—it’s a way to get your perspective before the court when others might not think to mention it. If you hear about a case going on that involves economic liberty issues, you can contact some group that may not have heard of the case, but might be interested, and offer to write an amicus brief for them.
Write letters to the editor, or opinion articles for your local newspaper. As an attorney, what you have to say about the law is valuable and publishable, and it makes more of a difference than you probably realize. Find out what your local business community is concerned about. Talk to local small businessmen. When you go shopping at a little store in your town, strike up a conversation with the owner about the business; ask about legal problems he or she might face. Talk about licensing laws, silly overregulation, burdensome taxes. Hand out your business card, and let them know that there are folks out there that care about helping entrepreneurs.
And then, there’s litigation. Actually filing lawsuits to vindicate economic liberty in the courts. If you’re going to do this, make sure you’re familiar with the theories behind these suits. Read Craigmiles v. Giles, 312 F.3d 220 (6th Cir.2002), Cornwell v. Hamilton, 80 F.Supp.2d 1101 (S.D.Cal.1999), and other relevant cases—and call me or write me before you file!
