Case Study Of Abood V. Detroit Board Of Education

As the case was being decided, a major curveball was thrown into the mix when the Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia passed away. He was one of the nine Justices hearing the case and would have broken any tie decisions. Due to the death of Scalia, when it came time for the Supreme Court to make its decision, there was an even 4-4 split in the votes and his ninth vote would have broken said tie. Due to the fact there was a tie decision Abood v. Detroit Board of Education would not be overruled. Since the case was set in a tie it would not become a legal precedent for future cases. The court’s rulings make it still constitutional for unions to charge service fees to non-members. Had Friedrichs won there would be a massive financial blow to unions as they would have to find a way to make up money from the fees they would no longer acquire. …show more content…
California Teachers Association is not yet over with. CIR President Terry Pell explained, “We believe this case is too significant to let a split decision stand and we will file a petition for re-hearing with the Supreme Court… the Court will have a compelling reason to grant a rehearing because the case presents a question of fundamental rights, and by law, a tie vote by the Supreme Court does not settle a legal question; it simply leaves the lower court opinion in place and reserves the legal question for a future case.” A petition for rehearing has been established requesting that the case is looked over after a new judge is