Hernandez-Gotay v. United States, No. 19-2236 (1st Cir. 2021)
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In these consolidated cases, the First Circuit affirmed the decision of the district court rejecting Plaintiffs' suits seeking to enjoin the enforcement of Section 12616 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, which bans the sponsorship and exhibition of cockfighting matches in Puerto Rico, holding that Section 12616 is a valid exercise of Congress's Commerce Clause power and does not violate Plaintiffs' individual rights.
On their complaints, Plaintiffs argued that Section 12616 violated their First Amendment and Due Process rights and that Congress exceeded its powers under the Commerce and Territorial Clauses and further lodged both facial and as-applied pre-enforcement challenges to the statute. The district court granted the government's motion for summary judgment. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) Plaintiffs had standing to bring these lawsuits; (2) Section 12616 is a legitimate exercise of the Commerce Clause power; and (3) Section 12616 does not infringe on Plaintiffs' First Amendment freedoms of speech and association.
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