March 24, 2023 — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington D.C. — Yesterday, the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute filed its reply brief with the Ninth Circuit in its appeal on behalf of Doctors Michael Couris and Michael Fitzgibbons challenging a new California state law, AB 2098. The law restricts doctors’ First Amendment free speech rights by threatening disciplinary action for discussing with patients anything about COVID-19 that California views as “misinformation.”
HLLI’s appeal argues that AB 2098 unconstitutionally inhibits the open and frank communication required for doctors to provide patients the best advice and ensure they are fully informed. The reply brief refutes California’s argument that AB 2098 is a permissible regulation of physician conduct similar to other statutes that regulate the practice of medicine. Instead it demonstrates that AB 2098 was a hasty, ill-advised, and vague piece of legislation intended to suppress the speech of doctors with which California disagreed, well outside the bounds of historical regulations of the profession such as licensure and advertising restrictions. Contrary to California’s argument, AB 2098 does little to protect patients and in fact potentially harms patient care by stifling candid discussion between doctors and patients.
A copy of HLLI’s reply brief can be found here, and more information about AB 2098 and this case, originally filed in the Southern District of California, can be found here.
* * *
Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute is a nonprofit public interest law firm formed in 2019. HLLI challenges administrative and regulatory actions and abuses of the class action and civil justice system that exceed constitutional limits, promote rent-seeking, or otherwise improperly created deadweight loss; and challenges improper restrictions on speech and other actions beyond constitutional bounds.
HLLI’s website is http://hlli.org.
Contact:
Ted Frank, 703-203-3848, ted.frank@hlli.org
Adam Schulman, 610-457-0856, adam.schulman@hlli.org