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Danyelle Bennett v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, No. 19-5818 · judgment October 6, 2020

Certiorari denied · June 21, 2021
Pre-decision estimate: 3% cert probability

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

Questions presented

  1. Whether, contrary to Rankin v. McPherson, 483 U.S. 378 (1987), a public employee’s political debate on an issue of national importance may be silenced and accorded diminished constitutional protection based solely on the speaker’s use of an offensive word.

  2. Whether the Sixth Circuit erred in ruling, in conflict with other circuits, that the private exercise of free speech by a public employee on a matter of public concern may be curtailed based on the government’s purely speculative concerns of public perception.

  3. Whether the effect of the Sixth Circuit’s holding is to render the Pickering balancing test meaningless by constitutionalizing a “heckler’s veto” for controversial expressions.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Larry L. Crain
Church Law Institute

For respondent
Allison L. Bussell
Metropolitan Gov. of Nashville and Davidson County

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 3 conferences

Proceedings

  1. Jun 21 2021
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Jun 14 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/17/2021.
  3. Jun 09 2021
    Rescheduled.
  4. May 25 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/10/2021.
  5. May 07 2021
    Brief of respondents The Metropolitan Government of Nashville, et al. in opposition filed.
  6. Mar 18 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including May 10, 2021.
  7. Mar 17 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from April 9, 2021 to May 10, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
  8. Mar 10 2021
    Response Requested. (Due April 9, 2021)
  9. Mar 03 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/19/2021.
  10. Feb 25 2021
    Waiver of right of respondent The Metropolitan Government of Nashville, et al. to respond filed.
  11. Feb 01 2021
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due March 10, 2021)