Issues & Appeals

First & Fourteenth’s attorneys have an established record of appellate wins before courts across the county. Our Issues and Appeals group starts with a focus on winning at trial, advising trial counsel on strategy for critical motions, issue preservation, and trial. Early engagement, as we have found, almost always leads to a more defensible judgment. We are also engaged to challenge adverse decisions post-trial. Our attorneys have parachuted into federal and state cases and achieved reversal on appeal.
First & Fourteenth also has a national amicus practice, and its attorneys serve as amicus counsel in some of the most important disputes of the day before the U.S. Supreme Court, state supreme courts, and federal circuit courts across the country. 

Representative Cases

Merits

Republican National Committee v. Pelosi, 2022 WL 4349778 (D.C. Cir. 2022). Successfully represented the Republican National Committee in challenging a congressional subpoena issued by the House Select Committee to investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol. After winning an injunction pending appeal to the D.C. Circuit, and full briefing on the merits of the appeal, the Select Committee withdrew the subpoena. 

Religious Sisters of Mercy v. Becerra, 55 F.4th 583 (8th Cir. 2022). Successfully represented the Catholic Benefits Association in a first-in-the-nation challenge to HHS’s and EEOC’s attempts to force Catholic employers to provide and cover procedures in violation of their religious beleifs. 

Womble v. Chrisman, 770 F. App’x 918 (10th Cir. 2019), 2022 WL 334107 (10th Cir. 2022). Successfully represented an Oklahoma state prisoner in prosecuting multiple appeals to the Tenth Circuit in a civil rights case. In the first, the Tenth Circuit reversed 3-0 an order granting the government’s motion to dismiss. In the second, the Tenth Circuit reversed 3-0 an order granting the government’s summary judgment on failure-to-exhaust grounds. 

Markwell v. Cooke, 482 P.3d 422 (Colo. 2021). Successfully represented a group of state legislators in state constitutional litigation challenging use of computers to “read” bills faster than any listener could understand them. Our clients won a first-of-its kind injunction, which the Colorado Supreme Court substantially affirmed.

Ritchie v. Polis, 467 P.3d 339 (Colo. 2020). Successfully represented plaintiff-petitioners in a challenge to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’s Covid-19 executive order that eliminated the in-person signature gathering requirement to qualify an initiative for the Colorado ballot. In a 7-0 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court reversed a lower court and held the executive order violated the Colorado Constitution.

Chavez v. Cedar Fair, 450 S.W.3d 291 (Mo. 2014). Successfully represented client before the Missouri Supreme Court. The Court reversed a six-figure jury verdict in favor of an amusement park guest who was injured on a water slide.

Amicus 

  • Trump v. Anderson (U.S. 23-719)
  • 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, 143 S. Ct. 1131 (2023)
  • Carson v. Makin, 596 U.S. 767 (2022)
  • Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 592 U.S. 395 (2021)
  • Seila Law LLC v. CFPB, 140 S. Ct. 2183 (2020)
  • Barr v. AAPC, 140 S. Ct. 2335 (2020) 
  • Colorado Department of State v. Baca, 140 S. Ct. 2316 (2020)
  • L.W. v. Skrmetti, 83 F.4th 460 (6th Cir. 2023)
  • Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. v. Newman, 51 F.4th 1125 (9th Cir. 2022)
  • The High Lonesome Ranch v. Board of County Commissioners of Garfield County, 61 F.4th 1225 (10th Cir. 2023)  
  • Masterpiece Cakeshop, Inc. v. Scardina (Colo. 2023SC116)
  • Doe v. Catholic Relief Services, 300 A.3d 116 (Md. 2023)
  • Pritchard v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois (9th Cir.)
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