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JoAnne Troesch, et al. v. Chicago Teachers Union, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, No. 21-1525 · judgment April 15, 2021
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
In 2018, the Court in Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31 held that public employees have a First Amendment right not to subsidize union speech. 138 S. Ct. 2448, 2486 (2018). The Court also held that governments and unions violate that right by seizing union dues or fees from employees unless there is clear and compelling evidence the employees waived that constitutional right. Id. Illinois and many other states are resisting Janus’s holding by prohibiting employees who signed dues deduction forms from exercising their right to stop subsidizing union speech except during short escape periods—generally only ten to thirty days each year. The Seventh Circuit below, as well as the Third, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits, have upheld these restrictions, finding the government does not need proof of a waiver to restrict when employees can exercise their First Amendment rights under Janus, but that proof of employee contractual consent is enough to allow the government to seize union dues from employees over their objections. The question presented is: Under the First Amendment, to seize payments for union speech from employees who provide notice they are nonmembers and object to supporting the union, do governments and unions need clear and compelling evidence those employees knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived their First Amendment rights and that enforcement of the purported waiver is not against public policy?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
William L. Messenger
National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc.
For respondent
Thomas Arthur Doyle
Board of Education of the City of Chicago (Law Department)
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences
Amicus briefs
7 cert-stage
Proceedings
- Nov 01 2021Petition DENIED.
- Oct 13 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/29/2021.
- Oct 13 2021Reply of petitioners JoAnne Troesch, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Sep 27 2021Brief of respondents Chicago Teachers Union, et al. in opposition filed.
- Sep 27 2021Brief of respondent Board of Education of the City of Chicago in opposition filed.
- Aug 26 2021Brief amici curiae of Jason Kohute, et al. filed.
- Aug 26 2021Brief amicus curiae of Landmark Legal Foundation filed.
- Aug 25 2021Brief amicus curiae of Pacific Legal Foundation filed. VIDED.
- Aug 04 2021Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including September 27, 2021, for all respondents.
- Aug 03 2021Motion to extend the time to file a response from August 26, 2021 to September 27, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
- Jul 27 2021Response Requested. (Due August 26, 2021)
- Jul 23 2021Brief amicus curiae of Freedom Foundation filed.
- Jul 23 2021Brief amici curiae of States of Alaska, et al. filed.
- Jul 22 2021Brief amicus curiae of Liberty Justice Center filed. (Distributed)
- Jul 22 2021Brief amici curiae of Goldwater Institute; Cato Institute filed. (Distributed)
- Jul 14 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/27/2021.
- Jul 11 2021Waiver of right of respondents Chicago Teachers Union, et al. to respond filed.
- Jun 29 2021Waiver of right of respondent Board of Education of the City of Chicago to respond filed.
- Jun 21 2021Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due July 23, 2021)