Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Richard Lowery v. Lillian Mills, Dean of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 24-50879 · judgment October 31, 2025
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Question presented
University of Texas officials threatened Professor Richard Lowery with reduced pay, loss of a research post, and other consequences, if he did not stop publicly criticizing the UT administration. Wishing to avoid those outcomes, Lowery self-censored. In ten circuits, employer threats suffice to establish a § 1983 First Amendment retaliation claim if they would dissuade a reasonable employee from speaking. But the Fifth Circuit is one of two outlier courts that require a completed adverse action, such as a discharge, demotion, or reprimand, before an employee can state a retaliation claim—employer threats, no matter how credible or severe, are never enough. The question presented is whether a public employer’s threats against an employee can suffice to establish a First Amendment retaliation claim, if those threats would dissuade a reasonable employee from speaking on a matter of public importance.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Endel Rohe Kolde
Institute for Free Speech
For respondent
Jeffrey L. Oldham
Jackson Walker LLP
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences
Amicus briefs
5 cert-stage
Proceedings
- Jun 29 2026Petition DENIED.
- Jun 12 2026Reply of petitioner Richard Lowery filed. (Distributed)
- Jun 09 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/25/2026.
- Jun 02 2026Brief of respondents Lillian Mills, et al. in opposition filed.
- May 27 2026Waiver of the 14-day waiting period for the distribution of the petition pursuant to Rule 15.5 filed by petitioner.
- Apr 27 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including June 2, 2026, for all respondents.
- Apr 24 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response from May 26, 2026 to June 2, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
- Mar 30 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including May 26, 2026, for all respondents.
- Mar 27 2026Motion to extend the time to file a response from April 23, 2026 to May 26, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
- Mar 24 2026Response Requested. (Due April 23, 2026)
- Mar 17 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/2/2026.
- Mar 09 2026Brief amicus curiae of Institute for Justice filed.
- Mar 09 2026Brief amicus curiae of Alliance Defending Freedom filed.
- Mar 09 2026Waiver of right of respondent Lillian Mills, et al. to respond filed.
- Mar 09 2026Brief amicus curiae of Manhattan Institute filed.
- Mar 09 2026Brief amici curiae of First Amendment Scholars filed.
- Mar 09 2026Brief amici curiae of Protect the First Foundation, et al. filed.
- Feb 03 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due March 9, 2026)