Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. v. Pamela Bondi

The Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute (HLLI) filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in the case Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. v. Pamela Bondi, in which the district enjoined enforcement of Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) because it exceeded Congress’s authority.

HLLI argues that the CTA is unconstitutional and that the district court’s injunction is critical to protecting the Fourth Amendment rights of business owners. The Fourth Amendment protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government and is intended to protect Americans’ privacy rights. The CTA requires many businesses, including corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs), to submit personal ownership information to a federal database accessible by law enforcement without a warrant or suspicion of a crime, which HLLI argues tramples Fourth Amendment rights under the guise of fighting crime.

The CTA was enacted to combat crimes such as money laundering and tax evasion. However, the law faces growing legal challenges due to its sweeping reporting and surveillance requirements. Judge Amos Mazzant of the Eastern District of Texas and Judge Liles Burke in the Northern District of Alabama ruled that the CTA exceeds Congress’s powers. In Texas, Judge Mazzant issued a nationwide injunction barring enforcement of the CTA’s reporting requirements, which were set to take effect on January 1, 2025. But the Department of Justice successfully sought a stay of the lower court’s injunction. Now the case is before the Fifth Circuit to decide the merits of the case.

HLLI’s amicus brief argues that the district court correctly ruled that the CTA exceeds Congress’s authority but also asserts that an alternative grounds for affirming the district court is that implementation of the CTA would infringe on Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.

HLLI’s brief emphasizes that the CTA’s reporting requirements parallel the invasive practices that led to the adoption of the Fourth Amendment in the Bill of Rights. The law’s unrestricted database access by law enforcement without judicial oversight sets a dangerous precedent that undermines privacy and constitutional protections.