Supreme Court Suggests Forcing Lawyers to Pay Bar Association Dues Violates Their Free Speech
The U.S. Supreme Court may be on verge of upsetting the longstanding system of states requiring lawyers to pay dues to bar associations, reports the Los Angeles Times.
At least 30 states require the dues, in most cases with bar associations regulating the legal profession by licensing lawyers and disciplining those who violate the rules. Lawyers in turn are required to pay dues to cover the cost, explains the Times‘ David G. Savage.
Savage writes:
“In a brief order on Monday, the court overturned a ruling last year by the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals that had upheld mandatory bar dues in North Dakota and sent the case back “for further consideration in light of Janus.”
In Janus v. AFSCME, the court last June struck down state laws in California and elsewhere that required teachers and other public employees to pay fees to support a union.
