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Thomas More Law Center v. Rob Bonta, Attorney General of California

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 16-56855, 16-56902 · judgment September 11, 2018

Decided · July 1, 2021
Pre-decision estimate: 15% cert probability (95% interval 11%–20%)

Before the decision, about 3.6× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, a Ninth Circuit decision below, and a circuit split argued in the petition, and down for a state or local-government respondent.

Questions presented

Consolidated with 19-251. Petitioner Thomas More Law Center is a Michigan 501(c)(3) that defends religious freedom, family values, and the sanctity of life. To fundraise, the Law Center registered with the California Attorney General and made annual filings to his Register of Charitable Trusts. After a decade of accepting these filings without complaints, the Attorney General deemed them insufficient because, although they included the Law Center’s IRS Form 990, they omitted Schedule B to that form, which identifies the Law Center’s major donors. After the Attorney General threatened to suspend its nonprofit registration and personally fine its directors and tax preparer, the Law Center filed suit to protect donor anonymity. The district court enjoined the Attorney General’s donor-disclosure rule because his office had an extensive record of disclosing that confidential material, and donors were likely to face harassment and threats as a result. Because this disclosure rule arises outside the electoral context, six circuits would apply strict scrutiny. But the Ninth Circuit upheld the rule, joining the Second Circuit in holding that “there is only a single test—exacting scrutiny—that applies both within and without the electoral context.” App.133a–34a. The questions presented are:

  1. Whether exacting scrutiny or strict scrutiny applies to disclosure requirements that burden non-electoral, expressive association rights.

  2. Whether California’s disclosure requirement violates charities’ and their donors’ freedom of association and speech facially or as applied to the Law Center.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
John J. Bursch
Alliance Defending Freedom

For respondent
Aimee Athena Feinberg
California Department of Justice

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 5 conferences

Amicus briefs
14 cert-stage

Argument & decision

Argued April 26, 2021 — Derek L. Shaffer · Elizabeth B. Prelogar · Aimee A. Feinberg. Audio and transcript

Decided July 1, 2021. Opinion by Roberts, C.J..

Proceedings

  1. Aug 02 2021
    JUDGMENT ISSUED.
  2. Jul 01 2021
    Judgment REVERSED and case REMANDED Roberts, C. J., delivered the opinion of the Court, except as to Part II– B–1. Kavanaugh and Barrett, JJ., joined that opinion in full, Alito and Gorsuch, JJ., joined except as to Part II–B–1, and Thomas, J., joined except as to Parts II–B–1 and III–B. Thomas, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment. Alito, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which Gorsuch, J., joined. Sotomayor, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Breyer and Kagan, JJ., joined. VIDED.
  3. Apr 26 2021
    Argued. For petitioners: Derek L. Shaffer, Washington, D. C. For United States, as amicus curiae: Elizabeth B. Prelogar, Acting Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For respondent: Aimee A. Feinberg, Deputy Solicitor General, Sacramento, Cal. VIDED.
  4. Mar 30 2021
    CIRCULATED
  5. Mar 15 2021
    Record requested.
  6. Mar 15 2021
    The record from the U.S.C.A. 9th Circuit is electronic and located on Pacer.
  7. Mar 12 2021
    SET FOR ARGUMENT on Monday, April 26, 2021. VIDED.
  8. Jan 08 2021
    Petition GRANTED. The petition for a writ of certiorari in No. 19-251 is granted. The cases are consolidated, and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument. VIDED.
  9. Jan 08 2021
    Because the Court has consolidated these cases for briefing and oral argument, future filings and activity in the cases will now be reflected on the docket of No. 19-251. Subsequent filings in these cases must therefore be submitted through the electronic filing system in No. 19-251. Each document submitted in connection with one or more of these cases must include on its cover the case number and caption for each case in which the filing is intended to be submitted. Where a filing is submitted in fewer than all of the cases, the docket entry will reflect the case number(s) in which the filing is submitted; a document filed in all of the consolidated cases will be noted as “VIDED.”
  10. Dec 09 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/8/2021.
  11. Dec 09 2020
    Supplemental brief of respondent Xavier Becerra filed. VIDED. (Distributed)
  12. Dec 08 2020
    Supplemental brief of petitioner Thomas More Law Center filed. (Distributed)
  13. Nov 24 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of United States filed. VIDED.
  14. Feb 24 2020
    The Solicitor General is invited to file a brief in this case expressing the views of the United States.
  15. Feb 14 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/21/2020.
  16. Jan 21 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/24/2020.
  17. Jan 13 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/17/2020.
  18. Dec 11 2019
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/10/2020.
  19. Dec 10 2019
    Reply of petitioner Thomas More Law Center filed. VIDED.
  20. Nov 25 2019
    Brief of respondent Xavier Becerra in opposition filed. VIDED.
  21. Oct 07 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including November 25, 2019.
  22. Oct 03 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 25, 2019 to November 25, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
  23. Sep 25 2019
    Brief amicus curiae of Proposition 8 Legal Defense Fund filed. VIDED.
  24. Sep 25 2019
    Brief amicus curiae of Goldwater Institute filed.
  25. Sep 25 2019
    Brief amicus curiae of New Civil Liberties Alliance filed. VIDED.
  26. Sep 25 2019
    Brief amicus curiae of Hispanic Leadership Fund filed. VIDED.
  27. Sep 25 2019
    Brief amici curiae of Cato Institute, et al. filed. VIDED.
  28. Sep 25 2019
    Brief amici curiae of Philanthropy Roundtable, et al. filed. VIDED.
  29. Sep 25 2019
    Brief amici curiae of 24 Family Policy Organizations filed. VIDED.
  30. Sep 25 2019
    Brief amici curiae of The Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, et al. filed. VIDED.
  31. Sep 25 2019
    Brief amici curiae of Free Speech Coalition, et al. filed. VIDED.
  32. Sep 25 2019
    Brief amicus curiae of American Center for Law and Justice filed. VIDED.
  33. Sep 25 2019
    Brief amici curiae of Public Interest Legal Foundation, Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, Foundation for Michigan Freedom and Texas Public Policy Foundation filed. VIDED.
  34. Sep 25 2019
    Brief amicus curiae of Institute for Free Speech filed. VIDED.
  35. Sep 24 2019
    Brief amicus curiae of Institute for Justice filed. VIDED.
  36. Sep 11 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including October 25, 2019.
  37. Sep 09 2019
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from September 25, 2019 to October 25, 2019, submitted to The Clerk.
  38. Aug 28 2019
    Blanket Consent filed by Petitioner, Thomas More Law Center.
  39. Aug 26 2019
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 25, 2019)
  40. Jun 05 2019
    Application (18A1268) granted by Justice Kagan extending the time to file until August 26, 2019.
  41. Jun 03 2019
    Application (18A1268) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from June 27, 2019 to August 26, 2019, submitted to Justice Kagan.
    Main Document