Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin has issued a statement following arguments before the Supreme Court in the case of First Choice v. Platkin.
According to Platkin, First Choice is a crisis pregnancy center operating in New Jersey that has not responded to questions about its activities and potential misrepresentations within the state. In 2023, the Attorney General’s office issued a subpoena to First Choice to determine if it was adhering to state laws.
Platkin stated: “First Choice – a crisis pregnancy center operating in New Jersey – has for years refused to answer questions about its operations in our state and the potential misrepresentations it has been making. We issued a subpoena in 2023 to ensure that First Choice was complying with all relevant state laws. Non-profits may not deceive or defraud New Jerseyans, and we regularly exercise our traditional investigative authority to ensure they are not doing so – just as we do to protect our residents from a range of other misrepresentations.”
He further explained that the main issue before the Supreme Court is whether First Choice acted too early by suing, rather than questioning the legitimacy of the subpoena itself. “The question before the Supreme Court focuses on whether First Choice sued prematurely, not whether our subpoena is valid. First Choice is looking for an exception to the usual procedural rules as it tries to avoid complying with a lawful subpoena, something the Constitution does not permit. States issue literally thousands of these subpoenas every year as a standard part of fraud investigations, and First Choice’s position – which has no grounding in more than a century of history – risks turning those fraud investigations into federal court cases.”
Platkin concluded: “I remain committed to enforcing our fraud laws without fear or favor against anyone who would harm or violate the rights of our residents, no matter how powerful the entity on the other side.”
