Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. v. Merrick Garland

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. Merrick Garland, opposing the Department of Justice’s emergency motion to stay a district court’s nationwide injunction against the enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).

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.

The DOJ is appealing this decision to the Fifth Circuit and has filed an emergency motion to stay the injunction while the appeal proceeds. HLLI’s amicus brief opposes this motion, asserting that the district court correctly determined the CTA to be unconstitutional and that implementing its provisions 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.