TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

SCOTUS Won’t Hear Texas Mandatory Bar Dues Case

Posted by: Kate Prince on Apr 7, 2022
News Type: U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court will not review a ruling that the mandatory State Bar of Texas violates the associational and free speech rights of attorneys when it engages in activities not “germane” to improving the legal profession, such as funding legislative efforts, Bloomberg Law reports. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit sided with three bar members who said they can’t be forced to support to subsidize those non-germane activities. The appeals court granted an injunction that blocked the bar from requiring membership and dues from the plaintiffs until the lower court determines how much of their dues supported non-germane activity. It rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that all “ideological” activities were necessarily non-germane, citing diversity initiatives that seek to create a fair legal profession. The plaintiffs appealed to the high court, asking it to expand the appeals court ruling to find that members of a mandatory bar can’t be compelled to finance any political or ideological activities and can’t be forced to join one that engages in such activities.

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