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Kari MacRae v. Matthew Mattos, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, No. 23-1817 · judgment June 28, 2024
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
Hanover Public Schools fired Petitioner Kari MacRae as a public-school math/business teacher because of hot-button political speech she had posted on social media before she was hired by the school district. The lower courts upheld her firing by applying the balancing test for employee speech first recognized in Pickering v. Board of Education of Township High School District 205, Will County., 391 U.S. 563 (1968). Since Pickering, the Court has sought to protect the First Amendment rights of public employees while ensuring government employers can perform their important public functions. The Court has applied the Pickering balancing test, which balances those competing interests, to employee speech at work or about work. The Court has not applied the test to speech that occurred prior to an employee’s hiring and unrelated to the job. The First Circuit did, however. In doing so, it strayed from the Court’s jurisprudence, created an unconstitutional condition, and has deprived private citizens of their free speech rights solely because they may decide to become publicschool teachers in the future. The question presented is: Does the Pickering balancing test apply to unrelated, preemployment speech on matters of public concern?
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Michael Bekesha
Judicial Watch, Inc.
For respondent
Leonard H. Kesten
Brody, Hardon, Perkins & Kesten, LLP
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 16 conferences
Amicus briefs
3 cert-stage
Argument & decision
Decided June 30, 2025.
Proceedings
- Jun 30 2025Petition DENIED. Statement of Justice Thomas, respecting the denial of certiorari. (Detached Opinion)
- Jun 23 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/26/2025.
- Jun 17 2025Rescheduled.
- Jun 16 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/18/2025.
- Jun 10 2025Rescheduled.
- Jun 09 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/12/2025.
- Jun 02 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/5/2025.
- Jun 02 2025Rescheduled.
- May 27 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/29/2025.
- May 27 2025Rescheduled.
- May 19 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/22/2025.
- May 19 2025Rescheduled.
- May 13 2025Rescheduled.
- May 12 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/15/2025.
- Apr 28 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/2/2025.
- Apr 28 2025Rescheduled.
- Apr 21 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/25/2025.
- Apr 21 2025Rescheduled.
- Apr 14 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/17/2025.
- Apr 14 2025Rescheduled.
- Mar 31 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/4/2025.
- Mar 31 2025Rescheduled.
- Mar 24 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/28/2025.
- Mar 24 2025Rescheduled.
- Mar 17 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/21/2025.
- Mar 17 2025Rescheduled.
- Mar 03 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/7/2025.
- Mar 03 2025Rescheduled.
- Feb 26 2025Rescheduled.
- Feb 24 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/28/2025.
- Feb 20 2025Rescheduled.
- Feb 14 2025Reply of petitioner Kari MacRae filed. (Distributed)
- Jan 15 2025DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/21/2025.
- Dec 30 2024Brief of respondents Matthew Mattos, et al. in opposition filed.
- Nov 26 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including December 30, 2024.
- Nov 25 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 29, 2024 to December 30, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
- Oct 30 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including November 29, 2024.
- Oct 30 2024Brief amicus curiae of CatholicVote.org Education Fund filed.
- Oct 30 2024Brief amicus curiae of Protect the First Foundation filed.
- Oct 30 2024Brief amicus curiae of Equal Protection Project of the Legal Insurrection Foundation filed.
- Oct 28 2024Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 30, 2024 to November 29, 2024, submitted to The Clerk.
- Sep 26 2024Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 30, 2024)