Federal Trade Commission v. Superior Court Trial Lawyers Association
Supreme Court
493 U.S. 411 (1990)
Court-appointed defense lawyers for indigent criminal defendants in Washington, D.C., organized through the Superior Court Trial Lawyers Association (defendant), voted to stop accepting new cases until the District raised their compensation, and supplemented the boycott with media outreach to publicize their cause; the boycott succeeded, and the District raised the lawyers' pay. The FTC (plaintiff) found the boycott a per se antitrust violation under both the FTC Act and Sherman Act section 1; the court of appeals vacated the order, reasoning the boycott's political-expression component made a market-power analysis necessary rather than automatic per se condemnation, and the FTC appealed.
Whether a group boycott by service providers aimed at raising the price they are paid is a per se antitrust violation under the Sherman Act, notwithstanding that the boycott also carried a political message.