About Us

We urged the Supreme Court to overturn Humphrey’s Executor, a 1935 decision which ruled that federal employees who exercised “quasi-legislative” or “quasi-judicial” functions could not be fired by the President. By protecting the heads of independent agencies from accountability to the President, Humphrey’s Executor undermines the system of checks and balances designed by our Framers. Overturning it would be a historic victory for constitutional separation of powers.

We supported a challenge to racially gerrymandered congressional districts. In 2022, a federal district court ordered Louisiana to redraw their congressional maps and create a second majority-minority district. This ruling forced the state to create an illegal racial gerrymander. The map struck directly at the foundational American ideal that our government will not treat people differently and pit them against one another based on the color of their skin.

With the expansion of voting by mail, many states have begun counting ballots received after election day – delaying results and opening the door for abuse. Illinois Congressman Mike Bost sued the Illinois State Board of Elections over this practice. Landmark filed an amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Election Integrity Project California, Inc. Writing in support of Petitioners, we urged the Court to agree to hear Congressman Bost’s case.. This is a critical case for election integrity nationwide as candidates are ideally positioned to challenge improper election laws and courts should not unfairly limit their rights.

In July, Landmark submitted a brief defending the Trump administration’s efforts to rid our schools of DEI programs. These efforts had been challenged by the National Education Association, who convinced a federal judge to halt them with an injunction. Our brief highlighted a critical point about judicial authority: federal judges are empowered to resolve disputes between parties, not to issue sweeping nationwide orders affecting everyone.

The Big Beautiful Bill included a provision that barred Medicaid funding for organizations that provide elective abortions. Planned Parenthood sued, claiming that this amounted to a "Bill of Attainder." Incredibly, the Circuit Court agreed with them and ordered the government to continue funding Planned Parenthood. The Trump administration appealed this ruling, and we filed a brief in support.

We fought a ruling from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that forced employers to meet a clear and convincing evidence standard when proving exemptions to overtime regulations. If this ruling were upheld, it would have made it nearly impossible to get an exemption, which would have limited businesses’ ability to hire outside salespeople or other employees who work atypical schedules. In another unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court sided with Landmark and secured a victory for business owners and workers across the country.

We fought a lawsuit from the Mexican government which attempted to hold American gun manufacturers liable for violence committed by Mexican drug cartels. They brought this lawsuit despite being unable to identify any instances of wrongdoing on the part of Smith & Wesson. We urged the Supreme Court to dismiss this lawsuit, which they did unanimously.

Landmark was one of the only groups fighting against Jack Smith’s prosecution of Donald Trump. We argued that, because his appointment had not been confirmed by the Senate, he lacked the authority to bring charges against Trump. Judge Aileen Cannon ordered a hearing on this question and, after hearing our argument, dismissed Smith’s charges.

The Colorado Supreme Court attempted to prevent Donald Trump from appearing on the ballot in 2024 by weaponizing a provision in the 14th Amendment which prohibited those who had engaged in insurrection from holding office. We fought this at the Supreme Court, which ruled 9-0 that the Colorado court erred.

President Biden’s attempt to forgive student loans via executive order presented a massive threat to constitutional separation of powers. Landmark’s brief urged the Supreme Court to reject this unconstitutional boondoggle, which they did in a 6-3 decision.

In this case, striking truck drivers left the jobsite while their trucks were still mixing concrete, knowing that this would cause significant damage to the trucks. We argued that the National Labor Relations Act did not protect behavior (like intentional destruction of property) that was otherwise illegal. In a 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court agreed.

Named for a key player in the Reagan administration’s push for constitutional originalism, this program offers rigorous intellectual and professional preparation for recent college graduates preparing for law school.

They reported $0 of political spending despite sponsoring a national bus tour for the Biden/Harris campaign. We’ve filed a complaint with the IRS and are continuing our investigation. On their most recent tax filing, the AFT did report their political spending, indicating that Landmark’s pressure is getting results!

When Attorney General Merrick Garland directed FBI counter-terrorism resources be used to investigate parents voicing opposition to DEI at school board meetings, we requested records showing evidence of a threat that would warrant this response. DOJ records showed that no such threat existed, revealing that Garland’s order was simply an attempt to intimidate the Biden administration’s political opponents.

We defended an Arizona law implementing common sense restrictions on ballot harvesting. The DNC challenged the law, claiming it amounted to racial discrimination in violation of the Voting Rights Act, but a 6-3 Supreme Court affirmed Arizona’s right to limit ballot harvesting.

When Ohio attempted to remove dead and inactive voters from their rolls, they faced a legal challenge from a well-funded leftwing group that went all the way to the Supreme Court. Landmark defended Ohio’s law and helped secure a 5-4 victory that upheld the ability of states to maintain accurate voter rolls.

Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act required certain jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination to obtain authorization from the Department of Justice to make changes to their election laws. We argued that this section of the Voting Rights Act was only appropriate in response to exceptional and unique circumstances that no longer existed. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court struck down Section 5 as unconstitutional.

Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act required certain jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination to obtain authorization from the Department of Justice to make changes to their election laws. We argued that this section of the Voting Rights Act was only appropriate in response to exceptional and unique circumstances that no longer existed. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court struck down Section 5 as unconstitutional.

Landmark filed a complaint with the IRS Inspector General’s office.  The resulting report led to a series of successful legal challenges and the removal of the IRS’s most senior tax-exempt division personnel.

EPA refused to conduct adequate searches for records, withheld records located, and concealed records by allowing senior officials to set up phony email accounts or use private email accounts to conduct official business.  EPA’s misconduct in this case led to a second sanctions order and attorney fee award to Landmark.

For example, Landmark fought Obama’s regulations that effectively prohibited the construction of coal-fired power plants and opposed a Biden-administration rule that would have forced workers to use the “preferred pronouns” of their colleagues.

Landmark argued at all levels of federal court that the individual mandate was a violation of the Commerce Clause.  In his infamous decision upholding Obamacare, Chief Justice Roberts and the four liberals then on the Court agreed with the tax theory.  Landmark was one of only two (out of nearly 200 friend of the court briefs filed in the case) parties addressing the tax issue, arguing that it could not be considered a constitutionally permitted tax.

In case after case, the Foundation found that these centers improperly used millions of taxpayer dollars to train labor union members to become political activists.  We reported our findings to legislators and in many states fundamental reforms resulted, including the elimination of the program at Evergreen College in Washington State.

We discovered that numerous affiliates spent millions of dollars on taxable political activities without reporting them to the IRS as required by law.  Many faced fines, penalties, and IRS audits.

We discovered that they had failed to properly report millions in spending on leftwing political causes. Our efforts led to a multi-year audit of the NEA’s tax returns and to the reporting of tens of millions of dollars in previously secret political expenditures.

EPA violated a federal district court order to preserve EPA administrator Carol Browner’s computer hard drive.  The EPA destroyed Browner’s and other senior EPA officials’ computer records hours after Landmark secured a restraining order.  Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered the EPA to pay Landmark $210,000 in attorney’s fees.

Throughout the litigation, Landmark represented the program’s author, State Representative Annette “Polly” Williams.  Beginning in 1996, the Foundation fought for and won an expansion in the program to allow children access to religious schools, which greatly expanded school choice in Milwaukee and opened the door for the educational freedom movement currently sweeping the country.

He had previously served as Chief of Staff to Attorney General Ed Meese in the Reagan Justice Department. He served as our President from 1996 until 2017 and still plays an active role as our Board Chairman Emeritus.

We also successfully challenged Omaha, Nebraska’s city ordinance granting the local plumber’s union authority to issue plumbing licenses.  The case was decided by the Eighth Circuit of Appeals and cleared the way for independent plumbers throughout the Midwest to operate their businesses free from union interference and corruption.
Landmark also challenged racial quota systems in public schools.

Our first President was future U.S. Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond. We fought against the Carter administration’s massive regulatory agenda through public education, agency comments, and litigation.