October 5, 2023 — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, D.C. — A lawsuit led by Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute has led to the repeal of an unconstitutional statute that restricted doctors’ First Amendment rights by threatening disciplinary action against physicians who discussed with patients anything deemed by the State of California to be “disinformation” or “misinformation.”
HLLI proudly represented Dr. Michael Couris and Dr. Michael Fitzgibbons in a lawsuit (McDonald v. Lawson, No. 22-56220) challenging AB 2098, which deemed it unprofessional conduct for a California licensed physician to share “disinformation,” as defined by the state, regarding COVID-19 with their patients.
HLLI argued the case before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on July 17. During oral argument, the panel of judges expressed deep skepticism regarding the statute, strongly indicating that the statute was unconstitutional. On Sept. 5, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 815, which repealed AB 2098. A version of SB 815 from July 12, prior to oral arguments, did not include the repeal provision, indicating that HLLI’s case likely spurred the legislature and the Governor to repeal the statute. The Ninth Circuit still has the jurisdiction to decide the case before the repeal takes effect in January.
“The government has no business deciding what information doctors may or may not share with their patients,” HLLI attorney Adam Schulman said. “Doing so violates physicians’ First Amendment right to speak freely. It is no secret that several early assumptions about COVID-19 have since been disproven. The government’s version of science is not always right. Doctors, not bureaucrats, know best about how to keep patients informed.”
HLLI is grateful to Dr. Couris and Dr. Fitzgibbons for their courage in speaking out against this blatantly unconstitutional statute.
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Founded in 2019, Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute is a nonprofit public interest law firm that challenges improper restrictions on speech, 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.
As a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization as defined by section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, HLLI relies on support from individuals and foundations that share a commitment to individual liberty, free enterprise, and limited government. To learn more, visit http://hlli.org.
Contact:
Adam Schulman, adam.schulman@hlli.org
Ned Hedley, ned.hedley@hlli.org