California Attorney General Rob Bonta has joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the authority of states to use investigative subpoenas in their enforcement efforts. The coalition filed an amicus brief in support of New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin in the case First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, Inc., v. Platkin, which is scheduled for oral argument before the Supreme Court on December 2, 2025.
“Investigative subpoenas are one of the best tools that attorneys general have to make sure that businesses and people are following the law — not hurting Californians,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Among other things, my office has used them to prosecute healthcare companies that deceived consumers, get relief for students defrauded by for-profit universities, and to make sure employers pay their employees every dollar they earned. We urge the U.S. Supreme Court not to allow targets to evade investigation by improperly turning to the federal courts with half-baked allegations that their First Amendment rights have been chilled.”
The case centers on whether First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, a faith-based pregnancy center, can challenge a state-issued investigative subpoena in federal court before state courts have ruled on objections or enforced the subpoena. The organization claims its First Amendment rights were violated simply by receiving the subpoena from New Jersey’s Attorney General and seeks to block the investigation through federal court intervention.
Both lower federal courts sided with New Jersey, dismissing the lawsuit until state courts could consider objections or enforce the subpoena.
The coalition of attorneys general argues that allowing federal courts to intervene prematurely could undermine state investigations into a variety of legal areas such as antitrust, environmental regulation, and consumer protection. They emphasize that both Republican and Democratic attorneys general rely on investigative subpoenas as a key law enforcement tool, and state courts are equipped to address constitutional concerns related to such subpoenas.
Attorneys general from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington joined Bonta in filing the brief.
A copy of the amicus brief is available online.
