Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Manny Diaz, Jr., Member of the Florida Board of Governors of the State University System, et al. v. Leroy Pernell, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, No. 22-13992, 22-13994 · judgment July 7, 2026
(petition-stage, structural)
About 5.7× the 4.1% base rate. The model weights this up for a state or local-government petitioner, a circuit split argued in the petition, and an Eleventh Circuit decision below.
Question presented
Whether public university professors have a special status under the First Amendment, such that the speech they express in the course of their official duties, unlike the official-duty speech of all other public employees, is protected by the First Amendment from regulation by their employer, the state.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
David Morgan Steven Dewhirst
Office of the Solicitor General
For respondent
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Case
Subject area
First Amendment (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)
Conference history
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Proceedings
- Oct 05 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 9, 2026)