Law & Crime
Basketball legend John Stockton asked Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to help run a screen as he attempted to revive a foiled First Amendment lawsuit involving COVID-19 regulations.
In March, the Gonzaga great, along with various other plaintiffs, filed a federal lawsuit in Stockton’s native Washington against the state’s Attorney General Robert Ferguson and the executive director of the Washington Medical Commission over sanctions targeting “physicians who speak out against the mainstream Covid narrative.”
In May, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington denied the motion for a preliminary injunction and dismissed the case. An appeal was lodged with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit — where briefing is ongoing. In September, the appellate court denied a request to issue an injunction pending appeal.
In October, Stockton and his co-plaintiffs asked Justice Elena Kagan for an injunction pending appeal — which she blocked without a word on Wednesday. Now, the plaintiffs want to pass the ball to a justice they believe has a better stat line on First Amendment issues.
In a one-page letter dated Friday, Stockton’s attorney Richard Jaffe asked high court clerk Scott Harris to resubmit the injunction request with Thomas — who has largely been protective of free speech doctrine during his tenure, albeit with at least one major exception.
The plaintiffs concede that picking another justice to review the application may not be the cure-all needed in the case.
“It is a long shot, but we think the issue is important enough and has national consequences such that we should leave no stone unturned,” Jaffe told Law&Crime in an email. “Justice Thomas has a long history of protecting First Amendment rights. He may well decide that he wants the 9th Circuit to weigh in first and reject the renewed application. If so, we go back to the 9th Circuit on the appeal district court’s denial of our preliminary injunction and dismissal of the case.”
Stylized as Stockton v. Ferguson, the original petition explains how the NBA all-time leader in assists and steals hosts a podcast where he opines on “a wide variety of subjects, including Covid, health policy, the rights of individuals to make their own health and medical decisions, and sports.” The filing also identifies the celebrated point guard as “a vocal advocate against the mainstream Covid narrative.”
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