Liz Flynt, the chairwoman of Flynt Management Group, is following in her late husband’s legal footsteps, to take her ongoing legal battle with the State of California to the Supreme Court.
She is challenging a California law that forced gaming proprietors to choose between being part of California’s in-state gaming market or the markets of the other gaming states, but not both.
“My husband, Larry Flynt, defended free speech rights in front of the Supreme Court Justices and won an important victory not only for himself but also for everyone’s First Amendment protections,” said Liz Flynt. “Four decades later, I am asking the Justices to again protect important American rights – this time by standing up for business owners who are being illegally restrained from competing in a nationwide marketplace by California’s unconstitutional laws.”
Larry Flynt, the legendary founder of the HUSTLER publishing empire, launched the legal case back in 2016, challenging a California law that forced gaming proprietors to choose between being part of California’s in-state gaming market, or the markets of the other gaming states, but not both. He and two other cardroom owners challenged the state’s actions in court, calling a 1986 law – originally drawn up to try to keep the mafia out of California’s cardrooms – an “anachronistic” use of state regulatory power.
The case was still making its way through the courts when Mr. Flynt passed away on February 10, 2021. Mrs. Flynt knew how important the case was to her husband personally and to the future of American casino operations, so she continued the lawsuit on his behalf.
As a result, the case was brought to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for consideration. That court ruled in March that California’s cardroom licensing restrictions were valid, suggesting that a recent Supreme Court opinion precluded Mrs. Flynt’s claims.
Not so, said Erin McCampbell Paris, the attorney for Mrs. Flynt. “The Supreme Court has made it clear that you cannot force business owners to make the choice between being part of the enacting state’s in-state market or the markets of the other states, but not both. That kind of economic balkanization, or division of the market, is, and always has been, a violation of the Commerce Clause.”
On August 11, Paris filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the Supreme Court, arguing that if states like California are able to discriminate against the gaming industry’s ability to engage in interstate commerce, then they will have the power to discriminate against companies in any industry.
It is a cause Mrs. Flynt is readily embracing. “Just as Larry was a champion for free speech, we want this case to restore freedom – the freedom for business owners to operate in every state without California’s unfair and unconstitutional interference.”
Should the Supreme Court grant the writ and review the case, it will set the stage for another Flynt to argue a dramatic and far-reaching case before the nation’s highest court.
The post Larry Flynt’s widow to continue California cardroom challenge appeared first on G3 Newswire.
Liz Flynt, the chairwoman of Flynt Management Group, is following in her late husband’s legal footsteps, to take her ongoing legal battle with the State of California to the Supreme Court. She is challenging a California law that forced gaming proprietors to choose between being part of California’s in-state gaming market or the markets of the other gaming states, but…
The post Larry Flynt’s widow to continue California cardroom challenge appeared first on G3 Newswire.