The State and Local Legal Center (SLLC) provides assistance to state and local governments in connection with Supreme Court litigation by drafting amicus briefs to the Supreme Court to represent the state and local government perspective. SLLC is operated and maintained by a Staff Advisory Council, which is chaired by the National Conference of State Legislatures.  ICMA and other Big 7 organizations receive the briefs and provide signatory support. Below are some recent amicus briefs which ICMA has signed on to. 

2011

• Fox v. Vice: Issue: A federal statute authorizes courts to award attorney’s fees to prevailing civil rights plaintiffs or to a defendant in a federal civil rights case if the plaintiff’s civil rights claim was frivolous. When a plaintiff files both federal civil rights claims subject to the fee-shifting statute, and related state law claims that are not subject to the statute, can a defendant be awarded attorney’s fees because the plaintiff’s civil rights claim was frivolous, even if the plaintiff’s other state law claims were not frivolous? Assuming that fees can be awarded, should the defendant be awarded fees for all the time spent on the federal civil rights claim, even if some of the work was also necessary to defend against the state law claims?
• Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri: Issue: Whether government employees are protected from retaliation under the First Amendment's Petition Clause when they complain to the government about matters of purely personal (as opposed to public) concern.

2010

• Connick v. Thompson: Issue: Can a prosecutor’s office be held liable for the illegal conduct of one of its prosecutors, on the theory that the office failed to adequately train its employees, when there has been only one violation resulting from that deficient training?
• Doe v. Reed: Judgment: AFFIRMED, 8-1, in an opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts on June 24, 2010. Justices Breyer and Alito both filed concurring opinions, and Justice Sotomayor filed a concurring opinion which was joined by Justices Stevens and Ginsburg. Justice Stevens filed an opinion concurring in part and in the judgment, joined by Justice Breyer. Justice Scalia filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. Justice Thomas filed a dissent.