Harmeet K. Dhillon

Dhillon, the founder of Dhillon Law Group Inc., is on the Republican National Committee for California and a member of the Women for Trump Coalition.

In late August she was in Charlottes, North Carolina, for the Republican National Convention. "It's a lovely town, but it's depressing to have only about 300 of us here instead of 3,000," she said of the truncated program forced by the pandemic. "I've been tested for Covid twice in the last 72 hours. No spouses, no guests, no staff. Masks and no entertainment."

As the virus led to closures and restrictions, Dhillon joined other conservative attorneys who filed suits to challenge the state's regulations on worship. One of Dhillon's cases speedily reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied 5-4 an injunction to block the governor's executive order limiting religious gatherings to 25 percent of building capacity. South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom, 20-cv-00865 (S.D. Cal., filed May 8, 2020).

Dhillon's major current effort, she said, was to reverse the state's school closure mandate. "Every day that goes by, children are being deprived of their education," she said. "Of all the cases I've filed over Covid, that's the biggest issue. I wish the state hadn't done this to our kids." Brach v. Newsom, 2:20-cv-06472 (C.D. Cal., filed July 21, 2020).

U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson of Los Angeles said the plaintiffs could argue the matter at an upcoming hearing, which was on the calendar for Sept. 10, barring further delays. His willingness to listen was a positive, Dhillon said. "Parents should be commended for taking a stand against the California government's unconstitutional mandate and heartened the court is going to rule on the merits very soon.

Last year, Dhillon obtained injunctive relief and attorney fees in settling a free speech suit against a city and its mayor after they shut down discussion of homeless encampment policies at an open city council meeting. Malamud v. City of San Clemente, 18-cv-00855 (C.D. Ca., filed May 7, 2019).

Born of Indian parents, Dhillon partly shares a background with Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala D. Harris, whose parents were from India and Jamaica. Though they now differ politically, Dhillon acknowledges that she supported Harris when Harris ran successfully for San Francisco district attorney, a non-partisan post, in 2003.

Dhillon is targeting Harris and others in an effort to halt California's criminal prosecution of anti-abortion activist David R. Daleiden, who faces multiple felony counts of illegally recording Planned Parenthood workers. Dhillon's civil complaint contends California's video recording laws are being misused to prosecute a citizen-journalist. The Center for Medical Progress v. Becerra, 20-cv-00891 (C.D. Cal., filed May 12, 2020). Harris is among the defendants as a former California attorney general.

"There's a long history there, but I'm suing her now," Dhillon said.

-- John Roemer