SCOTUS Rules 9-0 Pregnancy Centers Can Challenge NJ Subpoena

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a group of faith-based pregnancy centers can challenge New Jersey’s unconstitutional subpoena for its donor records in federal court before the state officially moves to enforce it.

In First Choice Women's Resource Centers, Inc. v. Davenport (originally v. Platkin), SCOTUS resolved a technical but urgent constitutional question of whether a state subpoena that chills First Amendment rights must first be litigated in state court before seeking federal court relief. The lower courts ruled the pregnancy centers could not bring their case in federal court until a state court could address the claims. However, the Justices stated the law “guarantees a federal forum” for those who “claim unconstitutional treatment at the hands of state officials.”