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New England Legal Foundation Defends First Amendment Right to Work Against Occupational Overregulation
Crownholm v. Moore (U.S. Supreme Court)
Boston, MA — October 15, 2024 — The New England Legal Foundation (NELF – www.newenglandlegal.org) has filed an amicus curiae brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review Crownholm v. Moore, a case that challenges the boundaries of state occupational licensing laws and their impact on the First Amendment right to work. NELF is calling for the Court to take this case to protect the business owner’s right to sell information as a livelihood, free from undue government interference.
The case involves Ryan Crownholm, a business owner who creates and sells real estate site plans using public data. His site plans are accompanied by disclaimers, clearly stating that they are not legal surveys. In 2021, the California Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists cited Crownholm for allegedly practicing land surveying without a license. Crownholm sued, arguing that his creation and sale of site plans is constitutionally protected speech under the First Amendment. However, the Ninth Circuit ruled against him, stating that his activities were professional conduct, not protected speech.
In its brief, NELF offers a detailed critique of the appeals court’s reasoning. The foundation argues that by treating Crownholm’s site plans as conduct rather than speech, the appeals court sidestepped the Supreme Court’s prohibition against granting professional speech lesser First Amendment protection. NELF further highlights how both the California board and the court focused on the informational content of Crownholm’s site plans—clearly a form of speech—yet failed to apply the heightened First Amendment scrutiny that such content warrants.
“This case illustrates the confusion around the regulation of professional speech, and only the Supreme Court can provide clarity,” says NELF Staff Attorney John Pagliaro, who authored the brief. “Even the professional association of engineers and surveyors does not believe a license is necessary for the type of work Crownholm does.”
NELF also situates this case in the broader context of rising occupational overregulation by states, which creates excessive barriers for individuals seeking to enter the job market. The foundation emphasizes that excessive licensing requirements disproportionately harm small business owners and entrepreneurs like Crownholm.
By urging the Supreme Court to hear this case, NELF aims to ensure that the First Amendment right to sell information is not undermined by arbitrary state regulations.
Read the full brief here.
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About the New England Legal Foundation: Founded in 1977, the New England Legal Foundation (NELF – www.newenglandlegal.org) is the leading non-partisan, non-profit public interest law firm in the region dedicated to economic liberty. NELF’s ongoing mission is to champion free enterprise, property rights, limited government based on rule of law, and inclusive economic growth. We believe that free enterprise is a foundational value of a democratic society and the best opportunity for people to lift themselves to prosperity.