Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
John C. Eastman v. State Bar of California
Paid petition · Supreme Court of California, No. S292011 · judgment April 15, 2026
(petition-stage, structural)
Well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Questions presented
This case concerns whether a State may disbar an attorney for legal advice, public commentary, and petitioning activity undertaken on behalf of a client in a politically charged constitutional dispute. The Review Department of the State Bar Court of California acknowledged that the statements for which Dr. John Eastman was charged involved core political speech and even conceded that “the applicable standard is one of strict scrutiny,” yet the Review Department then set that standard aside, declaring that, “[r]egardless, our focus remains on Eastman’s false statements and whether or not they violate the rules and statutes governing attorney conduct.” App.102a n.92. The Review Department likewise refused to require narrow tailoring, characterizing such scrutiny as “compartmentaliz[ing] Eastman’s conduct into isolated events.” App.19a. Instead, the Review Department affirmed global discipline across counts one through ten for statements it deemed professional misconduct, concluding that some of those statements were statements of fact and thus entitled to only reduced or no constitutional protection. These errors give rise to the questions presented:
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Whether California’s disbarment of an attorney for legal advice, public commentary, and constitutional advocacy on matters of public concern is incompatible with the First Amendment.
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Whether California’s treatment of constitutional advocacy as a conspiracy to defraud the United States under 18 U.S.C. §371 improperly expands that criminal statute in a way that impermissibly burdens speech and petitioning activity protected by the First Amendment.
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Whether, under this Court’s decision in In re Loney, subject matter jurisdiction to initiate discipline for allegedly false statements in a federal court filing lies exclusively with the federal tribunal.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Jay Alan Sekulow
American Center for Law and Justice
For respondent
Christopher Gary Jagard
The State Bar of California
Proceedings
- Oct 15 2026Response Requested. (Due November 16, 2026)
- Oct 14 2026DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/6/2026.
- Oct 14 2026Brief amicus curiae of Life Legal Defense Foundation filed.
- Oct 14 2026Brief amici curiae of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, et al. filed.
- Oct 14 2026Brief amici curiae of Jonathan S. Goldstein, et al. filed.
- Oct 14 2026Brief amici curiae of National Legal and Policy Center, et al. filed.
- Oct 14 2026Brief amicus curiae of APA Watch filed.
- Oct 14 2026Amicus brief of Cyrus Sanai and Peyman Roshan submitted.
- Oct 14 2026Amicus brief of Article III Project submitted.
- Oct 14 2026Amicus brief of America's Future, Free Speech Coalition, Free Speech Defense and Education Fund, Citizens United, Citizens United Foundation, Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation, Public Advocate of the United States, Public Advocate Foundation, Judicial Action Group, Judicial Action Group Foundation, Restoring Liberty Action Committee, and Conservative Legal Defense and Education Fund submitted.
- Oct 13 2026Brief amicus curiae of The Oversight Project filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 13 2026Brief amici curiae of Seventeen Current and Former Attorneys of President Donald J. Trump and His Associates Targeted by Barfare filed.
- Oct 09 2026Waiver of right of respondent The State Bar of California to respond filed.
- Oct 09 2026Brief amicus curiae of The John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy, Inc. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 09 2026Brief amicus curiae of Bruce Jacobs, Esq. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 09 2026Amicus brief of Cyrus Sanai and Peyman Roshan submitted.
- Oct 05 2026Amicus brief of Liberty Legal Foundation, et al. not accepted for filing. (October 05, 2026) (corrected efiling to be submitted)
- Oct 05 2026Brief amici curiae of Liberty Legal Foundation, et al. filed.
- Oct 05 2026Brief amici curiae of Professor Rebecca Roiphe, et al. filed.
- Sep 11 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 14, 2026)
- Jun 26 2026Application (25A1445) granted by Justice Kagan extending the time to file until September 12, 2026.
- Jun 23 2026Application (25A1445) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from July 14, 2026 to September 12, 2026, submitted to Justice Kagan.