The Community Rights Counsel was an American non-profit, public interest

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to ...

formed in 1997 by the late Doug Kendall. Its general aim was to assist communities in protecting their health and welfare. The organization's legal work focused on the intersection of environmental and constitutional law, filing frequent amicus briefs in cases defending governmental action against claims of "regulatory takings." The group also promoted judicial ethics, exposing the practice of judges attending junkets sponsored by right wing think tanks that espoused free market anti-regulatory philosophies. Their findings were published in two reports, ''Nothing for Free: How Private Judicial Seminars Are Undermining Environmental Protections and Breaking the Public's Trust'' (July 2000), and ''Tainted Justice: How Private Judicial Trips Undermine Public Trust in the Federal Judiciary'' (March 2004). A version of ''Tainted Justice'' was published in the ''Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics'' 18:65-134. The group has since been absorbed into the

Constitutional Accountability Center The Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC) is a non-profit think tank located in Washington, D.C., that seeks to advance a progressive interpretation of the Constitution of the United States. The group has filed numerous lawsuits against forme ...

, a legal advocacy group.

Cases

The group filed many amicus briefs in state and federal appellate courts and the Supreme Court supporting the federal government. Among their notable briefs was an amicus submission in ''

Gonzales v. Raich ''Gonzales v. Raich'' (previously ''Ashcroft v. Raich''), 545 U.S. 1 (2005), was a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that under the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Congress may criminalize the production and use of homegrown ca ...

'' (2005). The case concerned whether the federal government had the power to regulate medical marijuana under the Constitution's Commerce Clause, which is the basis of federal authority for many health, safety, welfare, and environmental statutes. Had the federal government lost, many federal laws and regulations might not be enforceable except by a state-level action.

References

External links

Official WebsiteDWI Defense AttorneyPisanchyn Law Firm WebsiteConstitutional Accountability Center
Defunct law firms of the United States 1997 establishments in the United States Law firms established in 1997 Law firms disestablished in the 21st century 21st-century disestablishments in the United States {{US-law-company-stub