Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Jeanne Hedgepeth v. James A. Britton, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, No. 24-1427 · judgment August 26, 2025
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
For 20 years, petitioner Jeanne Hedgepeth was a teacher at Palatine High School in Illinois. While on summer vacation in Florida, she posted several comments on her private Facebook page criticizing political unrest following the death of George Floyd. The school district fired Hedgepeth after administrators deemed her core protected speech “disrespectful, demeaning of other viewpoints, and racist.” In any other context, such blatant viewpoint discrimination by government officials would be a nonstarter. But because Hedgepeth is a public employee, the Seventh Circuit held that the First Amendment does not bar the government from firing her based on the views she expressed in off-the-job speech on topics unrelated to her work. The court recognized that Hedgepeth’s Facebook posts constituted core political speech on matters of public concern. It did not matter. Invoking the balancing test set forth in Pickering v. Board of Education, 391 U.S. 563 (1968), the court held that the school’s interest in “avoiding disruption”—specifically, emails and phone calls from some members of the public (most of whom had no direct connection to the school) “expressing concern or outrage” about Hedgepeth’s summer vacation posts— “outweighs her right to speak.” The question presented is: Whether and in what circumstances public employers may discipline employees based on their expression of controversial views while off the job.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Paul D. Clement
Clement & Murphy, PLLC
For respondent
William R. Pokorny
Franczek P.C.
Proceedings
- May 18 2026Petition DENIED.
- Apr 28 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/14/2026.
- Apr 28 2026Reply of petitioner Jeanne Hedgepeth filed. (Distributed)
- Apr 10 2026Brief of respondents James A. Britton, et al. in opposition filed.
- Mar 11 2026Brief amicus curiae of The Equal Protection Project filed.
- Mar 11 2026Brief amici curiae of Manhattan Institute, et al. filed.
- Mar 11 2026Brief amicus curiae of Cato Institute filed.
- Mar 11 2026Brief amici curiae of Pacific Legal Foundation, et al. filed.
- Mar 11 2026Brief amicus curiae of Liberty Justice Center filed.
- Mar 02 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including April 10, 2026.
- Feb 27 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 11, 2026 to April 10, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
- Feb 11 2026Brief amicus curiae of The Buckeye Institute filed.
- Feb 11 2026Brief amicus curiae of American Center for Law and Justice filed.
- Feb 09 2026Response Requested. (Due March 11, 2026)
- Feb 03 2026Letter received from Jeanne Hedgepeth.
- Jan 28 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/20/2026.
- Jan 20 2026Waiver of right of respondent James A. Britton, et al. to respond filed.
- Jan 08 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due February 11, 2026)
- Nov 17 2025Application (25A562) granted by Justice Barrett extending the time to file until January 8, 2026.
- Nov 12 2025Application (25A562) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from November 24, 2025 to January 8, 2026, submitted to Justice Barrett.