Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants Inc.
| Docket No. | Op. Below | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19-631 | 4th Cir. | May 6, 2020 | Jul 6, 2020 | 6-3 | Kavanaugh | OT 2019 |
Holding: The exception for calls to collect government debt from a federal ban on robocalls to cellphones violates the First Amendment, but the exception is severable from the rest of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991.
Judgment: Affirmed, 6-3, in an opinion by Justice Kavanaugh on July 6, 2020. Justice Thomas joined the court’s opinion as to parts I and II. Justice Sotomayor filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. Justice Breyer filed an opinion concurring in the judgment with respect to severability and dissenting in part, in which Justices Ginsburg and Kagan joined. Justice Gorsuch filed an opinion concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part, in which Justice Thomas joined as to part II.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Opinion analysis: Fractured court rules in favor of political consultants in First Amendment challenge to federal robocall law but keeps robocall ban in place (Amanda Shanor, July 7, 2020)
- Live blog of opinions (Update: Completed) (Kalvis Golde, July 6, 2020)
- Educational seminar: Debrief of Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants (Katie Bart, May 8, 2020)
- Argument analysis: Justices skeptical of robocall law, but appear to want to keep it (Amanda Shanor, May 7, 2020)
- Educational seminar: Preview of Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants (Katie Bart, May 4, 2020)
- Argument preview: Justices take on First Amendment challenge to robocall law (Amanda Shanor, April 29, 2020)
- Court sets cases for May telephone arguments, will make live audio available (Amy Howe, April 13, 2020)
- Court releases April calendar (Amy Howe, February 21, 2020)
- Justices grant three new cases (Amy Howe, January 10, 2020)
- Petitions of the week (Andrew Hamm, December 19, 2019)
| Date | Proceedings and Orders |
|---|---|
| Sep 06 2019 | Application (19A271) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from September 19, 2019 to October 21, 2019, submitted to The Chief Justice. |
| Sep 09 2019 | Application (19A271) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until October 21, 2019. |
| Oct 11 2019 | Application (19A271) to extend further the time from October 21, 2019 to November 18, 2019, submitted to The Chief Justice. |
| Oct 15 2019 | Application (19A271) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until November 18, 2019. |
| Nov 14 2019 | Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 16, 2019) |
| Dec 04 2019 | Brief of respondents American Association of Political Consultants, Inc., et al. in support filed. |
| Dec 18 2019 | DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/10/2020. |
| Dec 18 2019 | Reply of petitioners William P. Barr, Attorney General, et al. filed. |
| Jan 10 2020 | Petition GRANTED. |
| Feb 20 2020 | Blanket Consent filed by Respondents, American Association of Political Consultants, Inc., et al. |
| Feb 21 2020 | SET FOR ARGUMENT on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. |
| Feb 24 2020 | Joint appendix filed. |
| Feb 24 2020 | Brief of petitioners William P. Barr, Attorney General, et al. filed. |
| Feb 26 2020 | Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 4th Circuit. |
| Feb 26 2020 | The record from the U.S.C.A. 4th Circuit is electronic and located on PACER. |
| Mar 02 2020 | Brief amici curiae of State of Indiana, et al. filed. |
| Mar 02 2020 | Brief amicus curiae of Student Loan Servicing Alliance filed. |
| Mar 02 2020 | Brief amici curiae of National League of Cities,et al. filed. |
| Mar 02 2020 | Brief amici curiae of National Consumer Law Center, et al. in support of neither party filed. |
| Mar 02 2020 | Brief amici curiae of Electronic Privacy Information Center, et al. filed. |
| Mar 02 2020 | Brief amici curiae of Retail Litigation Center, Inc. and National Retail Federation filed supporting neither party. |
| Mar 02 2020 | Brief amici curiae of Public Citizen and Public Citizen Foundation filed. |
| Mar 02 2020 | Brief amici curiae of Fifteen Members of Congress filed. |
| Mar 17 2020 | Blanket Consent filed by Petitioners, William P. Barr, Attorney General, et al. |
| Mar 19 2020 | CIRCULATED |
| Mar 25 2020 | Brief of respondents American Association of Political Consultants, Inc., et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| Apr 01 2020 | Brief amicus curiae of Retail Energy Supply Association filed. (Distributed) |
| Apr 01 2020 | Brief amicus curiae of Institute for Free Speech filed. (Distributed) |
| Apr 01 2020 | Brief amicus curiae of Institute for Justice filed. (Distributed) |
| Apr 01 2020 | Brief amicus curiae of Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC filed. (Distributed) |
| Apr 01 2020 | Brief amici curiae of Healthcare Companies filed. (Distributed) |
| Apr 01 2020 | Brief amicus curiae of Facebook, Inc. filed. (Distributed) |
| Apr 01 2020 | Brief amicus curiae of Cato Institute filed. (Distributed) |
| Apr 01 2020 | Brief amicus curiae of Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America filed. (Distributed) |
| Apr 01 2020 | Brief amicus curiae of Midland Credit Management, Inc. filed. (Distributed) |
| Apr 03 2020 | ORAL ARGUMENT POSTPONED. |
| Apr 03 2020 | Amicus brief of Association of Credit & Collection Professionals (ACA) not accepted for filing. (April 28, 2020) |
| Apr 13 2020 | Argument to be rescheduled for May 2020. |
| Apr 15 2020 | RESCHEDULED FOR ARGUMENT on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. |
| Apr 24 2020 | Reply of petitioners William P. Barr, Attorney General, et al. filed. (Distributed) |
| May 06 2020 | Argued. For petitioners: Malcolm L. Stewart, Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. For respondents: Roman Martinez, Washington, D. C. |
| May 06 2020 | Motion of ACA International, Inc. for leave to file amicus brief not accepted for filing. (May 20, 2020 - to be resubmitted in proper format.) |
| May 20 2020 | Motion of ACA International, Inc. for leave to file amicus brief not accepted for filing. (May 26, 2020) (Dupilicate submission). |
| May 20 2020 | Motion for leave to file amicus brief out of time filed by ACA International, Inc. (Distributed) |
| Jun 08 2020 | Motion for leave to file amicus brief out of time filed by ACA International, Inc. DENIED. |
| Jul 06 2020 | Adjudged to be AFFIRMED. Kavanaugh, J., announced the judgment of the Court and delivered an opinion, in which Roberts, C. J., and Alito, J. joined, and in which Thomas, J., joined as to Parts I and II. Sotomayor, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. Breyer, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment with respect to severability and dissenting in part, in which Ginsburg and Kagan, JJ., joined. Gorsuch, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part, in which Thomas, J., joined as to Part II. |
| Aug 07 2020 | JUDGMENT ISSUED. |
