March 2026 | This Month's Featured Pillar: Conscience Liberty
Conscience Liberty Branch Updates
FSU First Amendment Clinic Files Its First Brief
In October 2025, before the FSU First Amendment Clinic even officially opened, Florida’s Sixth District Court of Appeal invited the Clinic to submit an amicus (friend of the court) brief. The case concerned the extent of religious accommodations in the workplace as well as the Florida Civil Rights Act’s religious-discrimination requirements for workplaces.
This invitation was notable. Courts rarely invite outside organizations to submit amicus briefs unless a case is especially important. It was an honor for the First Amendment Clinic to receive this invitation—a sign of the appellate court’s awareness of the Clinic’s expertise. The Clinic prepared and filed the brief, appearing pro bono on behalf of The King’s Academy, a faith-based school in West Palm Beach.
We worked closely with Clinic law students to devise a legal strategy, research the law, and draft the brief. This work provided a unique opportunity for students to learn about the freedom of religion.
Conscience Liberty at the U.S. Supreme Court
Also exciting, the First Amendment Clinic made its first two appearances in the U.S. Supreme Court, in cases involving the freedom of speech.
We submitted the first amicus brief in Foothills Christian Ministries v. Kim Johnson. We challenged a California law which requires faith-based preschools to post state-mandated messages that promote access to spiritual advisors of… different faiths. If a preschool fails to comply with the regulation, it loses its operating license. On behalf of pro bono client National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, the Clinic argued that such government-mandated speech violates the First Amendment by compelling a message contrary to the speaker’s beliefs.
We filed a second amicus brief in E.D. v. Noblesville. In that case, a high school shut down a student-led extracurricular club because it deemed its proposed flyers to be “political.” The Clinic argued on behalf of Turning Point USA that in contexts such as these, students retain free-speech rights in school. Political speech is at the core of the First Amendment’s protections. If, as the Court has said in the past, schools are nurseries of democracy, students must be allowed to articulate various viewpoints and learn how to communicate and challenge them.
IGC & FSU First Amendment Clinic Host Advisory Opinions Podcast
On February 23, we hosted a boisterous live recording of the acclaimed legal podcast Advisory Opinions with Sarah Isgur and David French. The audience was packed with law students, faculty, appellate judges, attorneys, and curious members of the public!
The live audience brought energy and thoughtful questions, which made the conversation both substantive and fun. Five in-person audience members won a free advance copy of Sarah Isgur’s forthcoming book, Last Branch Standing. In case you missed the event, you can find the video recording here.
American Institutions Survey
The Constitutional Liberty Branch of the Institute also plans to organize a national survey on Americans’ attitudes towards constitutions and federalism in April 2026. The survey will be administered online and will receive roughly 1,500 responses. Respondents will be asked about their levels of veneration for the national and state constitutions, opinions towards reform, and opinions about federalism. The survey will feature a battery of questions gauging respondents’ preferences regarding which layers of government (federal, state, or local) are most trustworthy and should perform various governmental functions. The survey results will help determine if respondents who prefer decentralized, state power in American politics also have greater awareness of and veneration for their state constitutions. We look forward to sharing the results of the survey with you!
NEW Research 3/4: The American Dream
NEW Research Coming 3/16: Charity or Government?