Free-market public-interest litigation firm, led by @annastjohn and @tedfrank. New home of @CCAF. Free speech, separation of powers, class action fairness.
Washington, DC
Joined November 2018
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📰HLLI in the News: @daily_montanan
Is it illegal in Montana to post AI-generated political satire in the lead-up to an election?
Surprisingly, under a recently enacted state law, the answer may be yes.
Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute retweeted
The thread shows the firing wasn't because of her husband's anti-Israel activism but personally I wouldn't want my kid's college Hillel's rabbi's spouse to be an anti-Israel activist. Would a black student org be ok with a leader whose spouse was a white supremacist?
@JewishCurrentshas an article claiming that Emory Hillel’s new rabbi Nikki Golomb was fired a month into her job because it was afraid her husband’s anti-Israel activism would offend conservative donors. The story is based solely on her account, and is written to suggest that there was no reason to think she shares his views. I suspect this was as case where Emory Hillel didn’t do its due diligence. 1/
Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute retweeted
.@Jesse_Leg on Reform Judaism is so good. washingtonpost.com/opinions/…
Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute retweeted
Illinois is embarrassed by the number of career criminals caught reoffending after slaps on the wrist.
But the legislature has come up with a solution. No, not a solution to the recidivism problem, but a solution to the judges-and-prosecutors-being-embarrassed-by-their-bad-decisions problem. A new law automatically seals the records of every criminal case (with minor narrow exceptions). This means that journalists can’t write stories like this unless they maintain their own parallel records of sentencing instances.
This is unconstitutional. The public has a right to access to the court records, and a government can’t blanket seal such an overbroad category of cases.
@HamLincLaw would love to bring that lawsuit to block this law, but we need a journalist or publication who can show that they’ll be affected by this law to have standing to do it.
If that’s you, and you’re interested, DM or email me.
Getting a 42-month sentence for robbing the Prada store on Oak Street of $46,000 didn’t set him straight.
Months after getting out, he helped rob a utility crew of a $25,000 camera, which made the feds angry.
His sentence: 8 years *federal*
cwbchicago.com/2026/10/prada…
AI-generated political satire is still protected speech!
In Montana, Accountability in State Government sent AI-generated political mailers to voters.
“This is the third court within the footprint of the Ninth Circuit that has said these types of laws exceed the constitutional authority of states,” said @aeschulman , senior attorney for the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, which represented the interest group.
📰HLLI in the news:
As states pass new laws regulating AI, some laws infringe on free speech. Montana is no exception.
@routefifty covered HLLI’s victory challenging Montana’s restrictions on AI-generated political speech.
“The government cannot censor speech just because that speech uses AI technology,” said HLLI senior attorney @aeschulman.
🗞️HLLI in the news:
@KiowaPress covered HLLI’s First Amendment victory challenging Montana’s law restricting AI-generated political speech.
“This is an important victory for political speech and the First Amendment,” said @aeschulman, a senior attorney at the law institute. “The government cannot censor speech just because that speech uses AI technology.”
❓What incentives drive bad class-action settlements?
HLLI co-founder @tedfrank joined @MoustacheClubUS to discuss class-action litigation, attorney incentives and why getting money to class members matters.
“We are deterring bad class actions through a rule that requires class members to get paid, and I think that is a feature rather than a bug.”
Read or listen: hlli.org/oliver-bateman-does…
⚖️HLLI Victory Anniversary: Judge Posner Strikes Down Settlement Giving Attorneys $1 Million While Class Members Get Coupons
In September 2014, Judge Richard Posner struck down approval of a RadioShack coupon settlement that awarded $1 million in attorneys’ fees while a 16-million-member class would receive just 83,000 coupons worth $10 each — about $830,000 in coupons total.
🗞️HLLI in the News: U.S. judge blocks Montana from enforcing ‘deepfake’ election ads law against conservative group
sided with former Republican state lawmaker Dan Bartel and his group, Accountability in State Government, in finding that the law likely posed a threat to their free speech rights under the US Constitution's First Amendment.”
“'We were pleased to see the district court recognize the timeless principle that free speech is essential to free and fair elections,' @aeschulman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs at the conservative legal group the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, said in a statement.”