No. 21-375

Joshua Gray v. Maine Department of Public Safety

Lower Court: Maine
Docketed: 2021-09-09
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Amici (3)Response Waived Experienced Counsel
Tags: civil-rights due-process first-amendment free-speech good-moral-character occupational-licensing professional-license speech-content strict-scrutiny
Key Terms:
FirstAmendment
Latest Conference: 2021-10-08
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether an occupational licensing board, consistent with the First Amendment, may deny an occupational license because of the content of an applicant's speech without satisfying strict scrutiny?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTION PRESENTED Petitioner Joshua Gray made comments on his Facebook page in which he criticized the conduct of employees of the Respondent Maine Department of Public Safety in a fatal shooting. When Gray later applied to that same department for a professional investigator’s license, it denied his application, alleging that some of his Facebook comments criticizing its employees were inaccurate and that he thus lacked the “good moral character” required for licensure. The question presented is: Whether an occupational licensing board, consistent with the First Amendment, may deny an occupational license because of the content of an applicant’s speech without satisfying strict scrutiny?

Docket Entries

2021-10-12
Petition DENIED.
2021-10-07
Brief amicus curiae of The Cato Institute filed. (Distributed)
2021-10-04
Brief amici curiae of Professors Morris M. Kleiner, et al. filed. (Distributed)
2021-10-04
Brief amicus curiae of Foundation for Individual Rights in Education filed. (Distributed)
2021-09-22
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/8/2021.
2021-09-17
Waiver of right of respondent Maine Department of Public Safety to respond filed.
2021-09-03
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 12, 2021)

Attorneys

Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
Eugene VolokhUCLA School of Law, Amicus
Eugene VolokhUCLA School of Law, Amicus
Joshua Gray
Paul Michael ShermanInstitute for Justice, Petitioner
Paul Michael ShermanInstitute for Justice, Petitioner
Maine Department of Public Safety
Thomas A KnowltonOffice of the Attorney General of Maine, Respondent
Thomas A KnowltonOffice of the Attorney General of Maine, Respondent
Professors Morris M. Kleiner & Edward J. Timmons
Joseph S. DiedrichHusch Blackwell LLP, Amicus
Joseph S. DiedrichHusch Blackwell LLP, Amicus
The Cato Institute
Ilya ShapiroCato Institute, Amicus
Ilya ShapiroCato Institute, Amicus