# Mandatory bar in Texas violates lawyers' First Amendment rights, 5th Circuit rules **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 13, 2021, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-bar-in-texas-violates-lawyers-first-amendment-rights-5th-circuit-rules/946402 "2021-07-13T15:57:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-bar-in-texas-violates-lawyers-first-amendment-rights-5th-circuit-rules/946402/1 "2021-07-13T15:57:54Z")
Subject is the title of the article below. I’m not sure what to make of this. Big deal? No deal? Something in-between? Apparently the courts have found that lawyers are not required to be members of their state bar association if their state bar engages in political activity. I’m not sure I got that 100% right so see article below. I am curious if this a is big deal or a nothingburger. > **[Mandatory bar in Texas violates lawyers' First Amendment rights, 5th Circuit...](https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/mandatory-bar-in-texas-violates-lawyers-first-amendment-rights-5th-circuit-rules)** > > A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the mandatory state bar in Texas violates lawyers’ First Amendment rights because of its political and ideological activities. NOTE: Not sure about the best place to post this mods feel free to move. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-bar-in-texas-violates-lawyers-first-amendment-rights-5th-circuit-rules/946402/2 "2021-07-13T15:59:30Z")
Sounds like the same reasoning the courts followed years ago with regard to union dues and political activity. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-bar-in-texas-violates-lawyers-first-amendment-rights-5th-circuit-rules/946402/3 "2021-07-13T16:16:51Z")
I am against any law that says, “to practice profession A you must pay money to organization B which advocates political positions you may disagree with.” so this is good in the abstract. I am also fully aware sometimes such decisions have negative unintended consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-bar-in-texas-violates-lawyers-first-amendment-rights-5th-circuit-rules/946402/4 "2021-07-13T17:08:46Z")
Interesting. In Canada, the law societies are for professional regulation, not partisan purposes. Membership is a condition of practising law. They regulate educational standards, professional discipline, insurance requirements, and so on. If you want to join a lawyers group that lobbies governments on issues that are of interest to the profession, that’s what the Canadian Bar Association is for, as a voluntary org. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-bar-in-texas-violates-lawyers-first-amendment-rights-5th-circuit-rules/946402/5 "2021-07-13T17:20:08Z")
Despite watching every episode of Law & Order (du dun) many times, I still don’t know why the call it the bar. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-bar-in-texas-violates-lawyers-first-amendment-rights-5th-circuit-rules/946402/6 "2021-07-13T17:27:49Z")
> **[Bar (law)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_(law))** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > In law, the bar is the legal profession as an institution. The term is a metonym for the line (or "bar") that separates the parts of a courtroom reserved for spectators and those reserved for participants in a trial such as lawyers. > In the United Kingdom, the term "the Bar" refers only to the professional organisation for barristers (referred to in Scotland as advocates); the other type of UK lawyer, solicitors, have their own body, the Law Soci... ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mandatory-bar-in-texas-violates-lawyers-first-amendment-rights-5th-circuit-rules/946402/7 "2021-07-13T17:32:26Z")
Although I was surprised by the OP’s thread title. By what I’ve heard about Texas, I never thought there would be any need to require people to go to the bar.