Oregon — After more than six years of litigation, a federal court has issued a final judgment limiting the ability of the Oregon State Bar to compel its members to subsidize ideological speech, marking a significant First Amendment victory for two Oregon attorneys represented by the Goldwater Institute and Oregon Constitutional lawyer Luke Miller.
The case arose from a 2018 statement published by the Oregon State Bar in its official magazine that criticized then-President Donald Trump and associated him with violence and white nationalism. Because Oregon attorneys are required to join the bar and pay mandatory dues to practice law, some members objected that their fees were being used to promote political views unrelated to the bar’s regulatory role.
Plaintiffs Daniel Zene Crowe and Lawrence Peterson, both retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonels and career Judge Advocates, argued that being forced to subsidize such speech violated their rights of free association. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon on December 13, 2018. Reflecting on the final judgment, Crowe stated:
The Bar exists to regulate the practice of law as an agent of the Oregon Supreme Court; it is not a political action committee. We felt bound by duty to oppose this lawlessness. The Rule of Law exists so that all Americans can live in peace alongside those with whom they will never agree. That peaceful resolution cannot be achieved by straw men or woke groupthink.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals twice reversed dismissal of the case by U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon, ultimately holding in 2024 that the Bar had indeed violated the plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights. The final judgment reinforces that mandatory bar activities must remain narrowly tied to improving legal services and regulating the profession, in accordance with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Keller precedent.
Crowe’s Next Front: Focusing on Fiduciary Accountability
This legal victory appears to be a step in Crowe’s broader efforts focusing on government accountability, what he describes as “an opening salvo”. He has recently been retained as General Counsel for two “good government” accountability organizations, where he is working to apply the same “Rule of Law” rigor to the State’s management of School Trust Lands. Regarding this move, Crowe noted:
The central focus remains unchanged: applying rigor to the Rule of Law. Whether it is the State Bar or the State Land Board, Oregon must be held strictly to its fiduciary and Constitutional duties—regardless of political winds, ideology, or budgetary convenience.
Editor’s Note: Daniel Zene Crowe is a retired US Army LTC (JA) and the host of Town Hall, a program co-produced by Right Now Oregon.
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