government-speech

37 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-142 William Gerard Sangervasi, II v. City of San Jose, California, et al. Ninth Circuit 2025-08-06 Denied Response Waived equal-protection first-amendment government-speech police-uniform sexual-orientation viewpoint-discrimination Whether government can misappropriate police uniforms for ideological sexual speech in violation of equal protection and First Amendment rights
25-107 Leah Gilliam v. David Gerregano, Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Revenue, et al. Tennessee 2025-07-29 Denied Amici (5)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) first-amendment free-speech government-speech license-plate public-forum state-regulation Whether the messages paid for and chosen by car owners on personalized license plates are government speech
25A116 Leila Green Little, et al. v. Llano County, Texas, et al. Fifth Circuit 2025-07-28 Presumed Complete circuit-split first-amendment free-speech government-speech information-access public-library Whether the First Amendment protects a right to receive information from a public library and how the government speech doctrine applies to library co…
25-66 Alliance Marc & Eva Stern Math & Science High School, et al. v. Public Employment Relations Board, et al. California 2025-07-18 Denied Response Waived administrative-law first-amendment free-speech government-speech public-employers union-membership Whether the government-speech doctrine allows states to categorically prohibit public employer agents and employees from sharing disfavored views cons…
24-1261 Cambridge Christian School, Inc. v. Florida High School Athletic Association, Inc. Eleventh Circuit 2025-06-10 Denied Amici (24)Response RequestedRelisted (2) establishment-clause free-exercise free-speech government-speech religious-liberty santa-fe-doctrine Whether Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe compels a finding of government speech where two private Christian schools sought to engage in com…
24-6429 Robert Michael Kuczewski v. Robin Marien, et al. California 2025-01-31 Denied Response WaivedIFP defamation first-amendment free-speech government-speech limited-purpose-public-figure public-interest Whether the standard for classifying limited purpose public figures and the scope of defamation liability for republishing official government documen…
24-5537 Nevin P. Cooper-Keel v. Roberts A. Kengis Sixth Circuit 2024-09-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP facebook-page first-amendment free-speech government-speech public-forum viewpoint-discrimination Whether a government's Facebook page constitutes a public forum and whether deleting comments based on viewpoint violates First Amendment free speech …
24-216 Advance Colorado, et al. v. Jena Griswold, Colorado Secretary of State Tenth Circuit 2024-08-28 Denied Amici (1)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) ballot-measures first-amendment government-speech legislative-interference petition-rights tax-reduction Does the government-speech doctrine immunize state efforts to compel false and pejorative language on ballot initiative petitions that undermine tax r…
24A6 Advance Colorado, et al. v. Jena Griswold, Colorado Secretary of State Tenth Circuit 2024-07-08 Presumed Complete ballot-initiative compelled-speech false-speech first-amendment government-speech petition-process Whether a state law compelling citizens to include government-mandated language on ballot initiative petitions violates the First Amendment by compell…
23-6417 Ralph Hall v. New York New York 2024-01-05 Denied IFP civil-rights compelled-speech constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process first-amendment free-speech government-speech prosecutorial-discretion sentencing Whether the First Amendment prohibits the government from compelling speech that contradicts the government's own message
23A243 Vivek H. Murthy, Surgeon General, et al. v. Missouri, et al. Fifth Circuit 2023-09-14 Presumed Complete Amici (5) content-moderation first-amendment free-speech government-speech injunction social-media Whether the First Amendment prohibits the federal government from communicating with social media platforms regarding the removal or suppression of us…
22-1199 Rogan O'Handley v. Shirley N. Weber, California Secretary of State, et al. Ninth Circuit 2023-06-12 Denied Amici (5)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3) censorship first-amendment free-speech government-speech online-censorship political-speech social-media social-media-regulation state-action Whether state officials violated the First Amendment by directing social media companies to remove political speech deemed false or misleading
22-932 North Carolina Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans, Inc. v. North Carolina Department of Transportation, et al. Fourth Circuit 2023-03-24 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) civil-rights constitutional-law first-amendment fourth-circuit free-speech government-speech license-plate public-forum specialty-license-plate state-law Did the district court and Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals err in applying the 'Government Speech' doctrine?
22-696 Reginald L. Gundy v. City of Jacksonville, Florida, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2023-01-26 Denied Response Waived civil-rights first-amendment free-exercise free-speech government-speech qualified-immunity retaliation Whether Petitioner's invited invocation before the City Council was private speech or government speech
22-6299 Judith Yigal, et vir, on Behalf of Their Minor Child, R. Y. v. Julia A. Butler, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2022-12-14 Denied IFP administrative-discrimination brandenburg-v-ohio child-trafficking civil-rights constitutional-rights discrimination due-process family-separation free-speech government-speech racketeering Does the targeting of a specific child, mother, father, and Jewish family and manipulating government authority to harm the well-adjusted child (with …
22-292 James D. Sullivan v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Fourth Circuit 2022-09-27 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2) establishment-clause free-exercise government-speech lemon-test public-forum religious-display Whether the lower court erred in its application of the Lemon test to the government's display of a religious monument
21-1532 Brian Davison v. Deborah Rose, et al. Fourth Circuit 2022-06-07 Denied civil-procedure civil-rights constitutional-scrutiny due-process first-amendment free-speech government-action government-speech public-forum speech-restriction standing viewpoint-discrimination Whether a forum and scrutiny analysis are required when considering First Amendment infringement claims involving the government barring citizen speec…
21-6837 John Ragin v. Circuit Court of Virginia, City of Newport News Virginia 2022-01-13 Denied Relisted (2)IFP civil-rights free-speech government-speech public-forum social-media standing Whether the First Amendment protects the right of public officials to block users from their social media accounts
21-974 Sylvia Borunda Firth, et al. v. Tony K. McDonald, et al. Fifth Circuit 2022-01-06 Denied administrative-agency civil-rights first-amendment free-speech free-speech-clause government-speech judicial-department keller-v-state-bar overrule-precedent state-bar Whether the State Bar of Texas qualifies as a government agency for purposes of the government speech doctrine
21-953 Richard Leake, et al. v. James T. Drinkard, Individually and in His Official Capacity as Assistant City Administrator of the City of Alpharetta, GA, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2021-12-29 Denied civil-rights constitutional-rights first-amendment free-speech government-speech historical-context parade-participation public-forum Whether the government can limit private citizens' speech in government-sponsored parades
21-918 Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America v. Thomas J. Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture, et al. Ninth Circuit 2021-12-21 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) compelled-subsidies constitutional constitutional-review first-amendment free-speech government-speech johanns-precedent johanns-v-livestock-marketing-association private-speech Whether otherwise unconstitutional compelled subsidies of private speech are 'government speech,' free from First Amendment review
21-6199 Robert M. Samson v. North Carolina, et al. Fourth Circuit 2021-11-08 Denied IFP civil-rights free-speech government-speech prior-restraint public-forum viewpoint-discrimination Whether the Director of the MCSB violated the First Amendment rights of the petitioner by denying his request to post a message on the MCSB's public f…
21-600 Wade Steven Gardner, et al. v. William Mutz, in His Capacity as Mayor of the City of Lakeland, Florida, et al. Eleventh Circuit 2021-10-26 Denied Response Waived civil-rights first-amendment free-speech government-speech legacy-monuments legal-doctrine monument-display public-forum public-forums summum summum-precedent Should the government speech doctrine as recognized in Pleasant Grove City, Utah v. Summum be modified in cases involving legacy monuments already in …
20-1800 Harold Shurtleff, et al. v. City of Boston, Massachusetts, et al. First Circuit 2021-06-24 Judgment Issued Amici (24) content-discrimination establishment-clause first-amendment flag-display free-speech government-speech public-forum religious-expression religious-viewpoint viewpoint-discrimination Whether the First Amendment prohibits the City of Boston from denying a private religious organization's request to briefly display its flag on a city…
20-1587 Louisiana v. Tazin Ardell Hill Louisiana 2021-05-14 Denied Amici (1) compelled-speech first-amendment fraud fraudulent-alteration government-speech sex-offender-registration sex-offender-registry state-id state-identification May a State require convicted sex offenders to obtain and carry a state identification bearing the words 'sex offender' without facially violating the…
20-1379 Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority v. Center for Investigative Reporting Third Circuit 2021-04-01 Denied Amici (3) categorical-ban commercial-speech content-restriction first-amendment free-speech government-speech political-speech public-forum supreme-court-precedent transit-advertising transit-authority Whether this Court's decision in Mansky overruled or abrogated the Court's holding in Lehman that transit authorities have the discretion to categoric…
19-285 Jerud Butler v. Board of County Commissioners for San Miguel County, et al. Tenth Circuit 2019-09-03 Denied Amici (5) such that it is entitled to protection under the civil-rights due-process first-amendment free-speech government-speech judicial-proceeding judicial-system judicial-testimony public-concern public-employee speech-protection Whether a government employee's truthful testimony at a judicial hearing qualifies as speech on a matter of public concern, such that it is entitled t…
19-63 Murphy J. Painter v. Shane Evans Louisiana 2019-07-11 Denied Response Waived civil-rights constitutional-protection defamation first-amendment government-speech new-york-times-v-sullivan public-figure Does the First Amendment apply to government speech such that defamatory government speech is protected free speech?
18-1455 Archdiocese of Washington v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, et al. District of Columbia 2019-05-22 Denied Amici (3)Relisted (5) civil-rights content-discrimination establishment-clause first-amendment free-speech government-speech public-forum religious-freedom viewpoint-discrimination Whether WMATA's policy of refusing to accept advertisements that promote or oppose religion or reflect a religious perspective violates the First Amen…
18-1365 Mogul Media, Inc., et al. v. City of New York, New York, et al. Second Circuit 2019-04-30 Denied Response Waived commercial-speech content-based-restriction content-based-restrictions equal-protection first-amendment free-speech government-speech municipal-government public-forum public-property zoning-resolution Does the First Amendment prohibit the City of New York from preferring the commercial speech of its tenants over private landowners' commercial and no…
18-1235 Joe Ribakoff v. City of Long Beach, California, et al. California 2019-03-22 Denied 1st-amendment civil-procedure civil-rights constitutional-rights content-based-regulation content-based-speech expert-testimony first-amendment free-speech government-speech public-forum speech-restriction Is a rule abridging speech by members of the public at an open public meeting of a city government a presumptively unconstitutional content-based spee…
18-1092 Associated Builders and Contractors of California Cooperation Committee, Inc. v. Xavier Becerra, Attorney General of California, et al. Ninth Circuit 2019-02-21 Denied Amici (1)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) civil-rights collective-bargaining first-amendment free-speech government-speech legislative-amendment private-donation private-speech proxy subsidy viewpoint-discrimination Does a plausible allegation of viewpoint-discrimination-by-proxy state a valid First Amendment claim?
18-1000 American Freedom Defense Initiative, et al. v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, et al. District of Columbia 2019-01-31 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) civil-rights constitutional-rights first-amendment free-speech government-censorship government-speech public-forum speech-restriction transit-advertising transit-authority viewpoint-discrimination Is the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's advertising space a public forum for Petitioner's Support Free Speech' ads such that Responden…
18-766 Teresa Bierman, et al. v. Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota, et al. Eighth Circuit 2018-12-17 Denied Amici (8)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2) exclusive-representation expressive-association first-amendment government-speech heightened-scrutiny individual-rights mandatory-expressive-association mandatory-representation public-employees rational-basis Can the government designate an exclusive representative to speak for individuals for any rational basis, or is this mandatory expressive association …
18-302 Andrei Iancu, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director, Patent and Trademark Office v. Erik Brunetti Federal Circuit 2018-09-07 Judgment Issued Amici (11) commercial-speech first-amendment free-speech government-speech immoral immoral-marks lanham-act scandalous scandalous-marks trademark trademark-registration Whether Section 1052(a)'s prohibition on the federal registration of immoral' or 'scandalous' marks is facially invalid under the Free Speech Clause o…
18-300 Delano Farms Company, et al. v. California Table Grape Commission California 2018-09-07 Denied Amici (2) attribution commercial-speech compelled-speech compelled-subsidy first-amendment government-speech industry-advertising industry-group oversight speech-attribution Whether compelled subsidy of promotional advertising by an industry group may be deemed 'government speech' without democratically accountable oversig…
18-18 Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission v. American Humanist Association, et al. Fourth Circuit 2018-07-03 Judgment Issued Amici (5)Relisted (5) civil-rights constitutional-interpretation establishment-clause first-amendment free-speech government-speech monument public-display reasonable-observer religious-symbol standing war-memorial Whether the Establishment Clause requires the removal or destruction of a 93-year-old memorial to American servicemen who died in World War I solely b…