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2024 United States Supreme Court case
National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo Full case name National Rifle Association of America v. Maria T. Vullo Docket no. 22-842 Citations 602 U.S. 175 (more )
Prior 49 F. 4th 700 (CA2 2022) Does the First Amendment allow a government regulator to threaten regulated entities with adverse regulatory actions if they do business with a controversial speaker, as a consequence of (a) the government's own hostility to the speaker's viewpoint or (b) a perceived "general backlash" against the speaker's advocacy? The NRA plausibly alleged that respondent violated the First Amendment by coercing regulated entities to terminate their business relationships with the NRA in order to punish or suppress gun-promotion advocacy.
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Clarence Thomas · Samuel Alito Sonia Sotomayor · Elena Kagan Neil Gorsuch · Brett Kavanaugh Amy Coney Barrett · Ketanji Brown Jackson
Majority Sotomayor, joined by unanimous Concurrence Gorsuch Concurrence Jackson U.S. Const. amend. I
National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo , 602 U.S. 175 (2024), is a United States Supreme Court case which held that if Maria T. Vullo, the former director of the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS), attempted to coerce financial institutions in the state to refrain from doing business with the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), then such conduct would violate the First Amendment to the United States Constitution .
Background [ edit ]
Following the Parkland high school shooting , the superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) Maria T. Vullo advised banks and insurance companies in the state of New York not to provide services to the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), an organization that lobbies in support of gun rights in the United States. The NRA sued Vullo, alleging a First Amendment violation.[1] A three-judge panel of United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled against the NRA, affirming a lower court's dismissal of the case. Judge Denny Chin wrote that while government officials may not "use their regulatory powers to coerce individuals or entities into refraining from protected speech… government officials have a right — indeed, a duty — to address issues of public concern."[2]
Supreme Court [ edit ]
The NRA appealed the Second Circuit's decision, and the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case on November 3, 2023.[2] [3] The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on March 18, 2024. The NRA was represented by David D. Cole of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Vullo was represented by former acting U.S. Solicitor General Neal Katyal .[4]
The Court released its opinion on May 30, 2024, vacating the Second Circuit's decision and remanding the case to the lower court. Justice Sonia Sotomayor authored the Court's unanimous decision, favoring the NRA, stating that "Government officials cannot attempt to coerce private parties in order to punish or suppress views that the government disfavors."[5] The decision further held that government officials cross the line into impermissible coercion when they engage in conduct “that, viewed in context, could be reasonably understood to convey a threat of adverse government action in order to punish or suppress speech.”[6] Justice Sotomayor explained that, “At the heart of the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause is the recognition that viewpoint discrimination is uniquely harmful to a free and democratic society.”[6]
References [ edit ]
^ "PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI" (PDF) . supremecourt.gov . Supreme Court of the United States. February 7, 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2024 .
^ a b Liptak, Adam (November 3, 2023). "Supreme Court to Hear N.R.A.'s Free Speech Case Against New York Official" . The New York Times . Retrieved March 22, 2024 .
^ John Fritze (March 18, 2024). "Supreme Court grapples with claim that New York pressured businesses to cut ties with NRA" . CNN . CNN. Archived from the original on March 18, 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024 .
^ Howe, Amy (March 18, 2024). "Court sympathetic to NRA's free speech claim" . SCOTUSblog. Retrieved March 22, 2024 .
^ Hurley, Lawrence (May 30, 2024). "Supreme Court rules for NRA in New York government coercion battle" . NBC News . Retrieved June 1, 2024 .
^ a b French, David (2024-06-02). "Opinion | Civil Liberties Make for Strange Bedfellows" . The New York Times . ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-06-03 .
Public displays and ceremonies Statutory religious exemptions Public funding Religion in public schools Private religious speech Internal church affairs Taxpayer standing Blue laws Other
Unprotected speech
Incitement and sedition Libel and false speechFighting words and the heckler's veto True threats Obscenity
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Marcus v. Search Warrant (1961)
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Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964)
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Ginzburg v. United States (1966)
Memoirs v. Massachusetts (1966)
Redrup v. New York (1967)
Ginsberg v. New York (1968)
Stanley v. Georgia (1969)
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Young v. American Mini Theatres, Inc. (1976)
Vance v. Universal Amusement Co., Inc. (1980)
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Speech integral to criminal conduct
Strict scrutiny Vagueness Symbolic speech versus conductContent-based restrictions Content-neutral restrictions
Compelled speech Compelled subsidy of others' speech
Government grants and subsidies Government as speaker Loyalty oaths School speech Public employees Hatch Act and similar lawsLicensing and restriction of speech Commercial speech
Valentine v. Chrestensen (1942)
Rowan v. U.S. Post Office Dept. (1970)
Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Comm'n on Human Relations (1973)
Lehman v. Shaker Heights (1974)
Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar (1975)
Bigelow v. Virginia (1975)
Virginia State Pharmacy Bd. v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council (1976)
Linmark Assoc., Inc. v. Township of Willingboro (1977)
Carey v. Population Services International (1977)
Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (1977)
In re Primus (1978)
Ohralik v. Ohio State Bar Association (1978)
Friedman v. Rogers (1979)
Consol. Edison Co. v. Public Serv. Comm'n (1980)
Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission (1980)
Metromedia, Inc. v. San Diego (1981)
In re R.M.J. (1982)
Hoffman Estates v. The Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc. (1982)
Zauderer v. Off. of Disciplinary Counsel of Supreme Court of Ohio (1985)
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. Public Utilities Comm'n of California (1986)
Posadas de Puerto Rico Assoc. v. Tourism Co. of Puerto Rico (1986)
San Francisco Arts & Athletics, Inc. v. U.S. Olympic Committee (1987)
Shapero v. Kentucky Bar Association (1988)
Riley v. Nat'l Fed'n of the Blind (1988)
State University of New York v. Fox (1989)
Peel v. Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of Illinois (1990)
City of Cincinnati v. Discovery Network (1993)
Edenfield v. Fane (1993)
United States v. Edge Broadcasting Co. (1993)
Ibanez v. Florida Dept. of Business and Professional Regulation, Bd. of Accountancy (1994)
Lebron v. National Railroad Passenger Corp. (1995)
Rubin v. Coors Brewing Co. (1995)
Florida Bar v. Went For It, Inc. (1995)
44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island (1996)
Glickman v. Wileman Brothers & Elliot, Inc. (1997)
Greater New Orleans Broadcasting Assn., Inc. v. United States (1999)
Los Angeles Police Department v. United Reporting Publishing Co. (1999)
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Thompson v. Western States Medical Center (2002)
Nike, Inc. v. Kasky (2003)
Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Ass'n (2005)
Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Assn. v. Brentwood Academy (2007)
Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, P.A. v. United States (2010)
Jerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich LPA (2010)
Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc. (2011)
Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman (2017)
Matal v. Tam (2017)
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Campaign finance and political speech Anonymous speech State action Official retaliation Boycotts Prisons
Organizations Future Conduct Solicitation Membership restriction Primaries and elections
External links [ edit ]