Earlier this week a federal judge allowed a case against the Wisconsin State Bar to proceed, following a lawsuit from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. WILL asserts that mandatory membership in the Bar is unconstitutional. Under state law, attorneys are mandated to join the Bar and pay it hundreds of dollars in dues each year to practice in Wisconsin. The Bar then uses the dues to fund controversial political activities—thereby violating its members’ First Amendment Rights of freedom of association and freedom of speech.
No one, in any profession, should be forced to fund causes he or she disagrees with. Over the years, the Wisconsin State Bar has supported causes such as Black Lives Matter, even though many members disagreed. Mandatory dues is bad enough, but then using that money to advance a particular political agenda is egregiously wrong.
