The U.S. Supreme Court case Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar (2014) revolved around the issue of whether a rule in the Code of Judicial Conduct, which prohibits judicial candidates from personally soliciting campaign funds, violates the First Amendment rights to freedom of speech. Lanell Williams-Yulee, who ran for county court judge in Hillsborough County, Florida, signed and sent a mass-mail fundraising letter asking for an early contribution to her campaign. She was charged with violating Canon 7C(1) by The Florida Bar and she contested it on grounds that it infringed upon her First Amendment rights. In its decision announced in 2015, the Supreme Court upheld Canon 7C(1), ruling that while this regulation does indeed impinge upon judicial candidates' free speech rights somewhat; such infringement is justified as states have a compelling interest in preserving public confidence in their judiciaries' integrity - something potentially undermined if judges are seen as directly beholden to donors due to personal solicitations for financial support during campaigns.

In the dissenting opinion for Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar, Justice Scalia argued that the majority's decision to uphold a ban on judicial candidates personally soliciting campaign funds was an infringement upon First Amendment rights. He contended that such restrictions were not narrowly tailored enough to serve compelling state interests and thus failed strict scrutiny - the highest standard of review used by courts when considering constitutional questions about freedom of speech. Furthermore, he criticized the majority’s reasoning as inconsistent, stating it allowed other forms of fundraising solicitations but singled out personal appeals as uniquely damaging to public confidence in judiciary impartiality. In his view, this amounted to favoritism towards certain types of speech over others which is contrary to principles underpinning free expression protections.