Overview

• Lower courts ruled First Choice Women’s Resource Centers’ federal lawsuit unripe and required it to raise constitutional objections in state court first.
• The subpoena seeks a decade’s worth of internal documents, including donor lists, advertising materials and licensed medical personnel records as part of a consumer fraud investigation.
• First Choice argues the demand chills free speech and association rights, warning that forcing state-court exhaustion creates a Catch-22 that bars federal review.
• Enforcement of the subpoena is paused after a state court order, pending the Supreme Court’s decision on whether the group can pursue its First Amendment claims in federal court.
• Represented by Alliance Defending Freedom and backed by conservative organizations, the case could redefine the boundary between state investigatory authority and First Amendment protections.