OLYMPIA, Wash. – Statement from James Abernathy, general counsel for the Freedom Foundation, on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 4-4 ruling in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association: 

“The ruling is a disappointment but not a defeat. If not for the untimely death of Justice Scalia, there’s little doubt the court would have sided with the millions of public employees forced to choose between supporting a union whose values they don’t share and losing their jobs.”

“The tie vote in no way affirms the current standard. It simply keeps it in place until a new justice can be appointed and one of the other cases in the pipeline can be heard by the court. We’re confident justice has only been delayed, not denied.”

“In the meantime, the Freedom Foundation stands squarely behind Rebecca Friedrichs and will continue to fight for the First Amendment rights of every public-sector worker.”