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Arnold Fleck v. Joe Wetch, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, No. 16-1564 · judgment August 17, 2017

GVR'd · December 3, 2018
Pre-decision estimate: 2% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Questions presented

This case involves compelled association and compelled speech in ways that are similar to Janus v. American Fed’n, 851 F.3d 746 (7th Cir. 2017), cert. granted, 138 S. Ct. 54 (U.S. Sept. 28, 2017) (No. 16- 1466), but different in an important respect. Unlike Janus, this petition addresses both of the legal issues this Court considered in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Ass’n, 136 S. Ct. 1083 (2016):

  1. Does it violate the First Amendment for state law to presume that Petitioner consents to subsidizing non-chargeable speech by the group he is compelled to fund (an “opt-out” rule), as opposed to an “opt-in” rule whereby Petitioner must affirmatively consent to subsidizing such speech?

  2. Should Keller v. State Bar of Cal., 496 U.S. 1 (1990), and Lathrop v. Donohue, 367 U.S. 820 (1961), be overruled insofar as they permit the state to force Petitioner to join a trade association he opposes as a condition of earning a living in his chosen profession?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Timothy Mason Sandefur
Goldwater Institute

For respondent
Randall Joseph Bakke
Bakke Grinolds & Wiederholt

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 9 conferences

Linked docket
17A494

Proceedings

  1. Jan 04 2019
    JUDGMENT ISSUED.
  2. Dec 03 2018
    Motion for leave to file amicus brief filed by Pacific Legal Foundation GRANTED.
  3. Dec 03 2018
    Motion for leave to file amici brief filed by Kourosh Kenneth Hamidi, et al. GRANTED.
  4. Dec 03 2018
    Petition GRANTED. Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED for further consideration in light of Janus v. State, County, and Municipal Employees, 585 U. S. ___ (2018).
  5. Nov 26 2018
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/30/2018.
  6. Nov 13 2018
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/16/2018.
  7. Nov 05 2018
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/9/2018.
  8. Oct 29 2018
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/2/2018.
  9. Oct 22 2018
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/26/2018.
  10. Oct 09 2018
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/12/2018.
  11. Oct 01 2018
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/5/2018.
  12. Jun 27 2018
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/24/2018.
  13. Jun 22 2018
    Reply of petitioner Arnold Fleck filed.
  14. Jun 08 2018
    Brief of respondents Joe Wetch, Aubrey Fiebelkorn-Zuger, and Tony Weiler in opposition filed.
  15. Jun 08 2018
    Brief of respondent Penny Miller, Secretary-Treasurer of the State Board of Law Examiners in opposition filed.
  16. Apr 26 2018
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including June 8, 2018, for all respondents.
  17. Apr 23 2018
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from May 10, 2018 to June 8, 2018, submitted to The Clerk.
  18. Mar 20 2018
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including May 10, 2018, for all respondents.
  19. Mar 16 2018
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from April 11, 2018 to May 10, 2018, submitted to The Clerk.
  20. Mar 12 2018
    Response Requested. (Due April 11, 2018)
  21. Mar 07 2018
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/23/2018.
  22. Feb 16 2018
    Waiver of right of respondent Joe Wetch, Aubrey Fiebelkorn-Zuger, and Tony Weiler to respond filed.
  23. Jan 22 2018
    Motion for leave to file amici brief filed by Kourosh Kenneth Hamidi, et al.
  24. Jan 22 2018
    Motion for leave to file amicus brief filed by Pacific Legal Foundation.
  25. Jan 12 2018
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including February 21, 2018, for all respondents.
  26. Jan 11 2018
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from January 22, 2018 to February 21, 2018, submitted to The Clerk.
  27. Dec 15 2017
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 22, 2018)
  28. Nov 06 2017
    Application (17A494) granted by Justice Gorsuch extending the time to file until December 15, 2017.
  29. Nov 02 2017
    Application (17A494) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from November 15, 2017 to January 14, 2018, submitted to Justice Gorsuch.