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PUBLICATION","paragraph_id":"para_1"},{"text":"In the","paragraph_id":"para_2"},{"text":"United States Court of Appeals","paragraph_id":"para_3"},{"text":"For the Eleventh Circuit","paragraph_id":"para_4"},{"text":"____________________","paragraph_id":"para_5"},{"text":"No. 24-13543","paragraph_id":"para_6"},{"text":"____________________","paragraph_id":"para_7"},{"text":"STEVEN W. HERNANDEZ,","paragraph_id":"para_8"},{"text":"DAVID DRWENCKE,","paragraph_id":"para_9"},{"text":"On behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated,","paragraph_id":"para_10"},{"text":"Plaintiffs-Appellants,","paragraph_id":"para_11"},{"text":"versus","paragraph_id":"para_12"},{"text":"FLORIDA BOARD OF BAR EXAMINERS,","paragraph_id":"para_13"},{"text":"MICHELE A. GAVAGNI,","paragraph_id":"para_14"},{"text":"Executive Director of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners","paragraph_id":"para_15"},{"text":"in both her individual and official capacity as such,","paragraph_id":"para_16"},{"text":"Defendants-Appellees,","paragraph_id":"para_17"},{"text":"THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA,","paragraph_id":"para_18"},{"text":"Defendant.","paragraph_id":"para_19"},{"text":"____________________","paragraph_id":"para_20"},{"text":"Appeal from the United States District Court","paragraph_id":"para_21"},{"text":"for the Northern District of Florida","paragraph_id":"para_22"},{"text":"D.C. Docket No. 4:21-cv-00247-AW-MAF","paragraph_id":"para_23"},{"text":"____________________","paragraph_id":"para_24"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 1 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_25"},{"text":"2 Opinion of the Court 24-13543","paragraph_id":"para_26"},{"text":"Before JILL PRYOR, LUCK, and BRASHER, Circuit Judges.","paragraph_id":"para_27"},{"text":"LUCK, Circuit Judge:","paragraph_id":"para_28"},{"text":"Two experienced attorneys, Steven Hernandez (a New Jer-","paragraph_id":"para_29"},{"text":"sey-licensed practitioner) and David Drwencke (a Michigan-li-","paragraph_id":"para_30"},{"text":"censed practitioner), sought admission to the Florida Bar. Florida","paragraph_id":"para_31"},{"text":"has a rule that anyone who’s been licensed to practice law for more","paragraph_id":"para_32"},{"text":"than twelve months must pay more to apply for admission than","paragraph_id":"para_33"},{"text":"inexperienced applicants. Viewing the rule as an unconstitutional","paragraph_id":"para_34"},{"text":"facial and practical-effect burden on out-of-state applicants under","paragraph_id":"para_35"},{"text":"the dormant Commerce Clause, Hernandez and Drwencke sued to","paragraph_id":"para_36"},{"text":"enjoin the Florida Board of Bar Examiners and its executive direc-","paragraph_id":"para_37"},{"text":"tor, Michele Gavagni, from enforcing the experienced-applicant","paragraph_id":"para_38"},{"text":"rule. The district court dismissed the facial claim and granted sum-","paragraph_id":"para_39"},{"text":"mary judgment for Gavagni on the practical-effect claim, so they","paragraph_id":"para_40"},{"text":"appealed.","paragraph_id":"para_41"},{"text":"We affirm. The board is an arm of the state of Florida, so","paragraph_id":"para_42"},{"text":"the Eleventh Amendment bars the claim against it. And the claim","paragraph_id":"para_43"},{"text":"against Gavagni fails on the merits. The experienced-applicant rule","paragraph_id":"para_44"},{"text":"draws no line based on where an applicant is from, so it doesn’t","paragraph_id":"para_45"},{"text":"facially discriminate. And the undisputed evidence showed that","paragraph_id":"para_46"},{"text":"the practical effect of the rule was to burden in-state and out-of-","paragraph_id":"para_47"},{"text":"state applicants the same, and that the board proposed—and the","paragraph_id":"para_48"},{"text":"Florida Supreme Court adopted—the rule for a valid purpose. The","paragraph_id":"para_49"},{"text":"district court correctly brought this suit to an end.","paragraph_id":"para_50"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 2 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_51"},{"text":"24-13543 Opinion of the Court 3","paragraph_id":"para_52"},{"text":"I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND","paragraph_id":"para_53"},{"text":"AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY","paragraph_id":"para_54"},{"text":"Anyone seeking admission to the Florida Bar must pay a fee","paragraph_id":"para_55"},{"text":"to the Board of Bar Examiners. Fla. Bar Admission R. 2-23. Those","paragraph_id":"para_56"},{"text":"not admitted to any bar for more than twelve months pay $700 to","paragraph_id":"para_57"},{"text":"$1,000—$700 if they apply soon after starting law school, and more","paragraph_id":"para_58"},{"text":"the longer they wait. Id. R. 2-23.1–3. “Experienced applicants,”","paragraph_id":"para_59"},{"text":"who have been members of another bar for more than twelve","paragraph_id":"para_60"},{"text":"months, pay $1,600 to $3,000, the amount increasing with their","paragraph_id":"para_61"},{"text":"years of admission. Id. R. 2-23.4.","paragraph_id":"para_62"},{"text":"Hernandez and Drwencke have been admitted to the bars of","paragraph_id":"para_63"},{"text":"New Jersey and Michigan since 2004 and 2016, respectively. When","paragraph_id":"para_64"},{"text":"Hernandez applied to the Florida Bar in 2020, he paid the maxi-","paragraph_id":"para_65"},{"text":"mum fee of $3,000. He postponed sitting for the bar exam and,","paragraph_id":"para_66"},{"text":"instead, sued the board and Gavagni in her official and individual","paragraph_id":"para_67"},{"text":"capacities. Drwencke wanted to apply to the Florida Bar in 2021,","paragraph_id":"para_68"},{"text":"but balked when he learned that his fee would be $2,000. Unwilling","paragraph_id":"para_69"},{"text":"to pay the fee, Drwencke joined Hernandez’s lawsuit.","paragraph_id":"para_70"},{"text":"A. The Complaints","paragraph_id":"para_71"},{"text":"Hernandez and Drwencke’s first amended complaint al-","paragraph_id":"para_72"},{"text":"leged that the experienced-applicant rule violated the dormant","paragraph_id":"para_73"},{"text":"Commerce Clause “either facially or in practical effect.” Through","paragraph_id":"para_74"},{"text":"their single dormant Commerce Clause claim, they sought to en-","paragraph_id":"para_75"},{"text":"join the board and Gavagni from enforcing the rule. Hernandez","paragraph_id":"para_76"},{"text":"also sought damages—a refund. But the district court dismissed","paragraph_id":"para_77"},{"text":"the action. Hernandez v. Fla. Bd. of Bar Exam’rs, 640 F. Supp. 3d 1246,","paragraph_id":"para_78"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 3 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_79"},{"text":"4 Opinion of the Court 24-13543","paragraph_id":"para_80"},{"text":"1249–52 (N.D. Fla. 2022). Drwencke lacked standing to seek an in-","paragraph_id":"para_81"},{"text":"junction against either defendant because he hadn’t alleged a defi-","paragraph_id":"para_82"},{"text":"nite plan to apply to the Florida Bar, and he lacked standing to seek","paragraph_id":"para_83"},{"text":"damages because he’d never paid the fee. Id. at 1249. Hernandez,","paragraph_id":"para_84"},{"text":"for his part, lacked standing to seek an injunction against either de-","paragraph_id":"para_85"},{"text":"fendant because he’d already paid the fee. Id. at 1249–50. And alt-","paragraph_id":"para_86"},{"text":"hough he had standing to seek damages, the board and Gavagni in","paragraph_id":"para_87"},{"text":"her official capacity had Eleventh Amendment immunity, while","paragraph_id":"para_88"},{"text":"Gavagni in her individual capacity had qualified immunity. Id. at","paragraph_id":"para_89"},{"text":"1250–52.","paragraph_id":"para_90"},{"text":"Hernandez and Drwencke moved for leave to file a second","paragraph_id":"para_91"},{"text":"amended complaint, with mixed success. Hernandez v. Fla. Bd. of","paragraph_id":"para_92"},{"text":"Bar Exam’rs, No. 4:21-cv-247, 2022 WL 20288237, at *1–2, *10 (N.D.","paragraph_id":"para_93"},{"text":"Fla. July 7, 2022). After reviewing the proposed second amended","paragraph_id":"para_94"},{"text":"complaint, the district court again concluded that Hernandez","paragraph_id":"para_95"},{"text":"didn’t have standing to seek an injunction against either defendant","paragraph_id":"para_96"},{"text":"and that his claim for damages was barred by sovereign and quali-","paragraph_id":"para_97"},{"text":"fied immunity. Id. at *2–5. Drwencke, however, had adequately","paragraph_id":"para_98"},{"text":"pleaded his plan to apply to the bar, entitling him to seek prospec-","paragraph_id":"para_99"},{"text":"tive relief. Id. at *2. He still couldn’t obtain any relief against the","paragraph_id":"para_100"},{"text":"board, which was immune under the Eleventh Amendment. Id. at","paragraph_id":"para_101"},{"text":"*3–4. And, of course, he couldn’t obtain damages against Gavagni","paragraph_id":"para_102"},{"text":"in her individual capacity because he’d never paid the fee. Id. at *2.","paragraph_id":"para_103"},{"text":"Nevertheless, the district court ruled, if Drwencke’s dormant Com-","paragraph_id":"para_104"},{"text":"merce Clause claim succeeded—on either a facial or a practical-ef-","paragraph_id":"para_105"},{"text":"fect theory—then he could obtain an injunction against Gavagni in","paragraph_id":"para_106"},{"text":"her official capacity. See id. at *4–5 (first citing Pennhurst State Sch.","paragraph_id":"para_107"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 4 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_108"},{"text":"24-13543 Opinion of the Court 5","paragraph_id":"para_109"},{"text":"& Hosp. v. Halderman, 465 U.S. 89, 100–02 (1984); and then citing","paragraph_id":"para_110"},{"text":"Ex parte Young, 209 U.S. 123 (1908)).","paragraph_id":"para_111"},{"text":"But the claim couldn’t succeed—at least not as pleaded. Id.","paragraph_id":"para_112"},{"text":"at *5–8. The experienced-applicant rule wasn’t facially discrimina-","paragraph_id":"para_113"},{"text":"tory, the district court explained, because it made no distinction","paragraph_id":"para_114"},{"text":"“based on the geographic origin of [a] regulated activity (here, legal","paragraph_id":"para_115"},{"text":"services).” Id. at *6. “An applicant living in Florida with a Wyo-","paragraph_id":"para_116"},{"text":"ming bar license,” for instance, “would have to pay the [higher]","paragraph_id":"para_117"},{"text":"fee[,] [b]ut an applicant living in Rhode Island with no prior bar","paragraph_id":"para_118"},{"text":"admissions would not[.]” Id. (citing Fla. Bar Admission R. 2-23.4)","paragraph_id":"para_119"},{"text":"(citation modified). And if the rule discriminated in practical effect,","paragraph_id":"para_120"},{"text":"the complaint didn’t sufficiently allege how. Id. (citing Bell Atl.","paragraph_id":"para_121"},{"text":"Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 557 (2007)). Still, the district court","paragraph_id":"para_122"},{"text":"couldn’t say that “any” further amendment would be futile, so it","paragraph_id":"para_123"},{"text":"granted leave to amend and gave Hernandez and Drwencke “one","paragraph_id":"para_124"},{"text":"final opportunity . . . to state a dormant Commerce Clause claim.”","paragraph_id":"para_125"},{"text":"Id. at *8.","paragraph_id":"para_126"},{"text":"That final opportunity did the trick. The third amended","paragraph_id":"para_127"},{"text":"complaint pleaded “just barely” enough detail for Drwencke to","paragraph_id":"para_128"},{"text":"state a practical-effect dormant Commerce Clause claim for injunc-","paragraph_id":"para_129"},{"text":"tive relief against Gavagni in her official capacity. Otherwise, the","paragraph_id":"para_130"},{"text":"district court’s previous rulings stood. Hernandez continued to","paragraph_id":"para_131"},{"text":"lack standing to seek injunctive relief because he’d already paid the","paragraph_id":"para_132"},{"text":"fee. He remained barred from seeking damages. And the facial","paragraph_id":"para_133"},{"text":"dormant Commerce Clause theory remained foreclosed.","paragraph_id":"para_134"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 5 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_135"},{"text":"6 Opinion of the Court 24-13543","paragraph_id":"para_136"},{"text":"B. Summary Judgment","paragraph_id":"para_137"},{"text":"After discovery, Drwencke and Gavagni cross-moved for","paragraph_id":"para_138"},{"text":"summary judgment on the remaining practical-effect dormant","paragraph_id":"para_139"},{"text":"Commerce Clause claim. The district court denied Drwencke’s","paragraph_id":"para_140"},{"text":"motion and granted Gavagni’s motion, looking to the three factors","paragraph_id":"para_141"},{"text":"we set out in Locke v. Shore, 634 F.3d 1185 (11th Cir. 2011). Hernan-","paragraph_id":"para_142"},{"text":"dez v. Fla. Bd. of Bar Exam’rs (Hernandez IV), No. 4:21-cv-247, 2024","paragraph_id":"para_143"},{"text":"WL 2156499, at *4–5 (N.D. Fla. Apr. 5, 2024) (denying Drwencke’s","paragraph_id":"para_144"},{"text":"motion for summary judgment); Hernandez v. Fla. Bd. of Bar Exam’rs","paragraph_id":"para_145"},{"text":"(Hernandez V), 746 F. Supp. 3d 1310, 1314–18 (N.D. Fla. 2024)","paragraph_id":"para_146"},{"text":"(granting Gavagni’s motion for summary judgment).","paragraph_id":"para_147"},{"text":"The first two factors favored Gavagni, the court explained,","paragraph_id":"para_148"},{"text":"because the board’s undisputed data showed that between 2008","paragraph_id":"para_149"},{"text":"and 2022, around fifty-five percent of experienced applicants had","paragraph_id":"para_150"},{"text":"out-of-state mailing addresses. See Hernandez V, 746 F. Supp. 3d at","paragraph_id":"para_151"},{"text":"1314–15 (citing record evidence). It was clear, then, that the expe-","paragraph_id":"para_152"},{"text":"rienced-applicant rule neither “eliminated” out-of-state applicants","paragraph_id":"para_153"},{"text":"from the market—the first factor—nor “impose[d] costs” that they","paragraph_id":"para_154"},{"text":"alone had to bear—the second factor. Id. (quoting Locke, 634 F.3d","paragraph_id":"para_155"},{"text":"at 1193). Other undisputed evidence from the board showed that","paragraph_id":"para_156"},{"text":"the rule hadn’t been implemented to serve “protectionist pur-","paragraph_id":"para_157"},{"text":"poses”—the third factor—but to offset the higher costs of investi-","paragraph_id":"para_158"},{"text":"gating experienced applicants. Id. at 1315–16 (quoting Locke, 634","paragraph_id":"para_159"},{"text":"F.3d at 1193). Even drawing all inferences for Drwencke, the court","paragraph_id":"para_160"},{"text":"concluded, it was undisputed that the experienced-applicant rule","paragraph_id":"para_161"},{"text":"didn’t discriminate in practical effect. Hernandez V, 746 F. Supp. 3d","paragraph_id":"para_162"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 6 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_163"},{"text":"24-13543 Opinion of the Court 7","paragraph_id":"para_164"},{"text":"at 1314–18; see also Hernandez IV, 2024 WL 2156499, at *4–5 (deny-","paragraph_id":"para_165"},{"text":"ing Drwencke’s summary-judgment motion for the same reasons).","paragraph_id":"para_166"},{"text":"C. The Final Amended Complaint","paragraph_id":"para_167"},{"text":"With Drwencke’s practical-effect claim disposed of, the dis-","paragraph_id":"para_168"},{"text":"trict court directed the parties to prepare for trial on any remaining","paragraph_id":"para_169"},{"text":"claims. Hernandez and Drwencke instead amended their com-","paragraph_id":"para_170"},{"text":"plaint one last time to “disavow” any claims not already adjudi-","paragraph_id":"para_171"},{"text":"cated, clearing the way for the district court to enter final judgment","paragraph_id":"para_172"},{"text":"for the defendants.","paragraph_id":"para_173"},{"text":"They then appealed. They contend that the experienced-ap-","paragraph_id":"para_174"},{"text":"plicant rule violates the dormant Commerce Clause both facially","paragraph_id":"para_175"},{"text":"and in practical effect. Accordingly, they urge us to reverse the dis-","paragraph_id":"para_176"},{"text":"missal of their facial claim and reverse the summary judgment on","paragraph_id":"para_177"},{"text":"their practical-effect claim.","paragraph_id":"para_178"},{"text":"II. STANDARD OF REVIEW","paragraph_id":"para_179"},{"text":"We review de novo a dismissal on Eleventh Amendment","paragraph_id":"para_180"},{"text":"immunity grounds and for failure to state a claim. Nichols v. Ala.","paragraph_id":"para_181"},{"text":"State Bar, 815 F.3d 726, 732 n.4 (11th Cir. 2016); Hopper v. Solvay","paragraph_id":"para_182"},{"text":"Pharms., Inc., 588 F.3d 1318, 1324 (11th Cir. 2009). We also review","paragraph_id":"para_183"},{"text":"de novo a summary judgment, drawing all inferences for the non-","paragraph_id":"para_184"},{"text":"movant. Sutton v. Wal-Mart Stores E., LP, 64 F.4th 1166, 1168 (11th","paragraph_id":"para_185"},{"text":"Cir. 2023).","paragraph_id":"para_186"},{"text":"III. DISCUSSION","paragraph_id":"para_187"},{"text":"Hernandez and Drwencke’s dormant Commerce Clause","paragraph_id":"para_188"},{"text":"claim can’t proceed against the board and fails against Gavagni.","paragraph_id":"para_189"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 7 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_190"},{"text":"8 Opinion of the Court 24-13543","paragraph_id":"para_191"},{"text":"The board, an arm of the state of Florida, is immune from suit en-","paragraph_id":"para_192"},{"text":"tirely. And Gavagni faces no liability in either her official or indi-","paragraph_id":"para_193"},{"text":"vidual capacity because the experienced-applicant rule doesn’t dis-","paragraph_id":"para_194"},{"text":"criminate facially or in practical effect.","paragraph_id":"para_195"},{"text":"A. The Board’s Eleventh Amendment Immunity","paragraph_id":"para_196"},{"text":"The district court correctly concluded that Hernandez and","paragraph_id":"para_197"},{"text":"Drwencke’s claim against the board was barred by the Eleventh","paragraph_id":"para_198"},{"text":"Amendment. The Eleventh Amendment bars federal suits against","paragraph_id":"para_199"},{"text":"an “arm of the [s]tate,” including the state’s “agents and instrumen-","paragraph_id":"para_200"},{"text":"talities[.]” Manders v. Lee, 338 F.3d 1304, 1308 (11th Cir. 2003) (en","paragraph_id":"para_201"},{"text":"banc) (first quoting Mt. Healthy City Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ. v. Doyle,","paragraph_id":"para_202"},{"text":"429 U.S. 274, 280 (1977); and then citing Regents of the Univ. of Cal.","paragraph_id":"para_203"},{"text":"v. Doe, 519 U.S. 425, 429–30 (1997)). “[W]hether an entity is an ‘arm","paragraph_id":"para_204"},{"text":"of the [s]tate’ for Eleventh Amendment purposes is ultimately a","paragraph_id":"para_205"},{"text":"question of federal law” to be “answered . . . [by] considering pro-","paragraph_id":"para_206"},{"text":"visions of state law.” Id. at 1309. Our analysis is “function specific,”","paragraph_id":"para_207"},{"text":"looking to the “particular function in which the defendant was en-","paragraph_id":"para_208"},{"text":"gaged” when it allegedly wronged the plaintiff. Freyre v. Chronister,","paragraph_id":"para_209"},{"text":"910 F.3d 1371, 1380 (11th Cir. 2018) (quoting Manders, 338 F.3d at","paragraph_id":"para_210"},{"text":"1308).","paragraph_id":"para_211"},{"text":"“[F]our factors . . . determine whether an entity is an ‘arm","paragraph_id":"para_212"},{"text":"of the [s]tate’ in carrying out a particular function: (1) how state","paragraph_id":"para_213"},{"text":"law defines the entity; (2) what degree of control the [s]tate main-","paragraph_id":"para_214"},{"text":"tains over the entity; (3) where the entity derives its funds; and","paragraph_id":"para_215"},{"text":"(4) who is responsible for judgments against the entity.” Manders,","paragraph_id":"para_216"},{"text":"338 F.3d at 1309 (citing Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Fla. v. Fla. State","paragraph_id":"para_217"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 8 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_218"},{"text":"24-13543 Opinion of the Court 9","paragraph_id":"para_219"},{"text":"Athletic Comm’n, 226 F.3d 1226, 1231–34 (11th Cir. 2000)). The first","paragraph_id":"para_220"},{"text":"and fourth factors are the “most important,” Monroe v. Fort Valley","paragraph_id":"para_221"},{"text":"State Univ., 93 F.4th 1269, 1279 (11th Cir. 2024), but the fourth factor","paragraph_id":"para_222"},{"text":"“is certainly not necessary for a finding of immunity” when the","paragraph_id":"para_223"},{"text":"other three favor it, Austin v. Glynn Cnty., 80 F.4th 1342, 1350 (11th","paragraph_id":"para_224"},{"text":"Cir. 2023) (citation modified).","paragraph_id":"para_225"},{"text":"Hernandez and Drwencke contend that they can sue the","paragraph_id":"para_226"},{"text":"board because it wasn’t acting as an “arm of the state” when it pro-","paragraph_id":"para_227"},{"text":"posed the experienced-applicant rule, but they’re mistaken. The","paragraph_id":"para_228"},{"text":"Manders factors amply support the board’s immunity.","paragraph_id":"para_229"},{"text":"First, Florida law defines the board as an arm of the state for","paragraph_id":"para_230"},{"text":"all purposes, including proposing the experienced-applicant rule.","paragraph_id":"para_231"},{"text":"The board is part of the Florida Supreme Court, which is a “depart-","paragraph_id":"para_232"},{"text":"ment of the State of Florida” entitled to Eleventh Amendment im-","paragraph_id":"para_233"},{"text":"munity. Uberoi v. Sup. Ct. of Fla., 819 F.3d 1311, 1313–14 (11th Cir.","paragraph_id":"para_234"},{"text":"2016). The Court possesses “exclusive jurisdiction to regulate the","paragraph_id":"para_235"},{"text":"admission of persons to the practice of law and the discipline of","paragraph_id":"para_236"},{"text":"persons admitted.” Fla. Const. Art. V, § 15. It exercises that juris-","paragraph_id":"para_237"},{"text":"diction through the Florida Bar and the board. Because the bar is","paragraph_id":"para_238"},{"text":"“an official arm of the [C]ourt,” R. Regulating Fla. Bar pmbl., and","paragraph_id":"para_239"},{"text":"the Court is an arm of the state, Uberoi, 819 F.3d at 1313–14, we’ve","paragraph_id":"para_240"},{"text":"held that the bar is entitled to the same immunity as the Court,","paragraph_id":"para_241"},{"text":"Kaimowitz v. Fla. Bar, 996 F.2d 1151, 1155 (11th Cir. 1993).","paragraph_id":"para_242"},{"text":"The same logic applies to the board: it’s an “administrative","paragraph_id":"para_243"},{"text":"agency of the Supreme Court of Florida created by the court to","paragraph_id":"para_244"},{"text":"implement the rules relating to bar admission.” Fla. Bar Admission","paragraph_id":"para_245"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 9 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_246"},{"text":"10 Opinion of the Court 24-13543","paragraph_id":"para_247"},{"text":"R. 1-13. According to the Florida Supreme Court, the board is “an","paragraph_id":"para_248"},{"text":"attach[é]” and “an arm of th[e] Court . . . answerable solely to [the","paragraph_id":"para_249"},{"text":"Court].” In re Fla. Bd. of Bar Exam’rs, 353 So. 2d 98, 100 (Fla. 1977).","paragraph_id":"para_250"},{"text":"Since the board is an arm of the Court, and the Court is an arm of","paragraph_id":"para_251"},{"text":"the state, the board is entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity","paragraph_id":"para_252"},{"text":"just like the bar. The “most important” first factor favors the board.","paragraph_id":"para_253"},{"text":"See Monroe, 93 F.4th at 1279.","paragraph_id":"para_254"},{"text":"Second, in proposing the experienced-applicant rule—the","paragraph_id":"para_255"},{"text":"“particular function” Hernandez and Drwencke attack—the board","paragraph_id":"para_256"},{"text":"is almost completely controlled by the Florida Supreme Court. As","paragraph_id":"para_257"},{"text":"the text of the rule states, “[a]ll fees are set by order of the Supreme","paragraph_id":"para_258"},{"text":"Court of Florida and are subject to change by published order of","paragraph_id":"para_259"},{"text":"the court.” Fla. Bar Admission R. 2-23; id. R. 1-51.1 (“Subject to the","paragraph_id":"para_260"},{"text":"approval of the court, the board may classify applicants and regis-","paragraph_id":"para_261"},{"text":"trants, and fix the charges, fees, and expenses that will be paid by","paragraph_id":"para_262"},{"text":"each.”). If the Court declines to approve a fee proposed by the","paragraph_id":"para_263"},{"text":"board, the board has no recourse. Cf. id. R. 2-23; id. R. 1-51.1 (fees","paragraph_id":"para_264"},{"text":"“[s]ubject to the approval of the court”).","paragraph_id":"para_265"},{"text":"Moreover, the structure of the board makes clear that it’s","paragraph_id":"para_266"},{"text":"controlled by the Florida Supreme Court no matter what function","paragraph_id":"para_267"},{"text":"it fulfills. The board exists only because the Court’s bar-admission","paragraph_id":"para_268"},{"text":"rules say it does—rules that the Court “review[s], approve[s], and","paragraph_id":"para_269"},{"text":"promulgate[s]” itself. Fla. Bar Admission R. 1-12. Those same rules","paragraph_id":"para_270"},{"text":"determine the scope of the board’s single duty: to implement the","paragraph_id":"para_271"},{"text":"bar-admission rules. Id. R. 1-13. And the board is “answerable","paragraph_id":"para_272"},{"text":"solely to [the Court]” by virtue of “th[e] Court’s constitutionally","paragraph_id":"para_273"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 10 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_274"},{"text":"24-13543 Opinion of the Court 11","paragraph_id":"para_275"},{"text":"endowed power[.]” In re Fla. Bd. of Bar Exam’rs, 353 So. 2d at 100.","paragraph_id":"para_276"},{"text":"The Court appoints all the board’s members, Fla. Bar Admission","paragraph_id":"para_277"},{"text":"R. 1-20, approves the board’s budget, id. R. 1-51, and reviews the","paragraph_id":"para_278"},{"text":"results of the board’s annual audit, id. R. 1-52. At every constitu-","paragraph_id":"para_279"},{"text":"tional and regulatory turn, the board answers to the state.","paragraph_id":"para_280"},{"text":"Third, the board effectively derives its funds from the state.","paragraph_id":"para_281"},{"text":"It’s true, of course, that applicant fees are the immediate source of","paragraph_id":"para_282"},{"text":"the board’s funds. Id. R. 1-51.1. But that doesn’t “tip the balance","paragraph_id":"para_283"},{"text":"against immunity” because the board’s authority to collect those","paragraph_id":"para_284"},{"text":"fees—and its duty to pay its own expenses—come from the state.","paragraph_id":"para_285"},{"text":"See Ross v. Jefferson Cnty. Dep’t of Health, 701 F.3d 655, 660 (11th Cir.","paragraph_id":"para_286"},{"text":"2012) (citation modified); see also id. (“[That the] [c]ounty","paragraph_id":"para_287"},{"text":"fund[s] . . . the [defendant] does not ‘tip the balance’ against im-","paragraph_id":"para_288"},{"text":"munity because . . . state law requires it to do so.”). Even an entity","paragraph_id":"para_289"},{"text":"that “raises its own funds to pay its expenses” is an “arm of the state","paragraph_id":"para_290"},{"text":"[when] the state controls its fiscal life.” Miccosukee Tribe, 226 F.3d at","paragraph_id":"para_291"},{"text":"1233.","paragraph_id":"para_292"},{"text":"Critically, the indicia of the state’s control over an entity’s","paragraph_id":"para_293"},{"text":"fiscal life include whether the state reviews and approves the en-","paragraph_id":"para_294"},{"text":"tity’s budget. Williams v. Dist. Bd. of Trs. of Edison Cmty. Coll., 421","paragraph_id":"para_295"},{"text":"F.3d 1190, 1194 (11th Cir. 2005) (“Although [the defendant commu-","paragraph_id":"para_296"},{"text":"nity college] is not exclusively funded by the state, state approval","paragraph_id":"para_297"},{"text":"of institutional budgets evidences state control.”); Harden v. Adams,","paragraph_id":"para_298"},{"text":"760 F.2d 1158, 1163 (11th Cir. 1985) (“Where the budget of an entity","paragraph_id":"para_299"},{"text":"is submitted to the state for approval, this suggests that the entity","paragraph_id":"para_300"},{"text":"is an agency of the state[.]”). In Fouche, for example, we held that","paragraph_id":"para_301"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 11 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_302"},{"text":"12 Opinion of the Court 24-13543","paragraph_id":"para_303"},{"text":"a self-funding and self-sufficient park authority was an “arm of the","paragraph_id":"para_304"},{"text":"state” because the authority had to submit its budget to the state","paragraph_id":"para_305"},{"text":"legislature and its financial records to the state auditor. Fouche v.","paragraph_id":"para_306"},{"text":"Jekyll Island-State Park Auth., 713 F.2d 1518, 1520–22 (11th Cir. 1983).","paragraph_id":"para_307"},{"text":"Here, as we’ve explained, the Florida Supreme Court—an","paragraph_id":"para_308"},{"text":"arm of the state—reviews and approves the board’s budget and the","paragraph_id":"para_309"},{"text":"fees the board uses to generate income. Fla. Bar Admission R. 1-51.","paragraph_id":"para_310"},{"text":"If the Court so desired, it could refuse to approve board budgets","paragraph_id":"para_311"},{"text":"that do or don’t include funding for certain projects or employees,","paragraph_id":"para_312"},{"text":"force the board to set all its fees to zero, and so on. See id. This is","paragraph_id":"para_313"},{"text":"ample evidence that the state controls the board’s fiscal life.","paragraph_id":"para_314"},{"text":"Because the first three factors favor the board’s Eleventh","paragraph_id":"para_315"},{"text":"Amendment immunity, it’s “certainly not necessary” to reach the","paragraph_id":"para_316"},{"text":"fourth. See Austin, 80 F.4th at 1350. That’s because actual liability","paragraph_id":"para_317"},{"text":"for the state “is not determinative of whether a governmental en-","paragraph_id":"para_318"},{"text":"tity should enjoy Eleventh Amendment immunity,” Ross, 701 F.3d","paragraph_id":"para_319"},{"text":"at 660, and the Supreme Court has “[n]ever” required it as a condi-","paragraph_id":"para_320"},{"text":"tion, Lake v. Skelton, 840 F.3d 1334, 1344 (11th Cir. 2016) (quoting","paragraph_id":"para_321"},{"text":"Manders, 338 F.3d at 1327–28 & n.51). So, we won’t belabor the","paragraph_id":"para_322"},{"text":"point: the board is an “arm of the state” and therefore enjoys Elev-","paragraph_id":"para_323"},{"text":"enth Amendment immunity from Hernandez and Drwencke’s","paragraph_id":"para_324"},{"text":"suit.","paragraph_id":"para_325"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 12 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_326"},{"text":"24-13543 Opinion of the Court 13","paragraph_id":"para_327"},{"text":"B. The Commerce Clause","paragraph_id":"para_328"},{"text":"With the board shielded, Hernandez and Drwencke’s","paragraph_id":"para_329"},{"text":"dormant Commerce Clause claim lies against Gavagni only.1 It","paragraph_id":"para_330"},{"text":"fails.","paragraph_id":"para_331"},{"text":"The Commerce Clause empowers Congress to regulate","paragraph_id":"para_332"},{"text":"commerce among the several states. U.S. Const. Art. I, § 8, cl. 3.","paragraph_id":"para_333"},{"text":"But the clause also restrains the states even when Congress hasn’t","paragraph_id":"para_334"},{"text":"acted, imposing “an implicit or ‘dormant’ limitation” on the states’","paragraph_id":"para_335"},{"text":"power to regulate interstate commerce. Healy v. Beer Inst., Inc., 491","paragraph_id":"para_336"},{"text":"U.S. 324, 326 n.1 (1989). “[M]odern” dormant Commerce Clause","paragraph_id":"para_337"},{"text":"doctrine is principally “concern[ed] about economic protection-","paragraph_id":"para_338"},{"text":"ism—that is, regulatory measures designed to benefit in-state eco-","paragraph_id":"para_339"},{"text":"nomic interests by burdening out-of-state competitors.” Dep’t of","paragraph_id":"para_340"},{"text":"Revenue of Ky. v. Davis, 553 U.S. 328, 337–38 (2008) (citation modi-","paragraph_id":"para_341"},{"text":"fied). The doctrine polices that concern by asking whether a law","paragraph_id":"para_342"},{"text":"“regulates evenhandedly with only ‘incidental’ effects on interstate","paragraph_id":"para_343"},{"text":"commerce, or discriminates against interstate commerce.”","paragraph_id":"para_344"},{"text":"Or. Waste Sys., Inc. v. Dep’t of Env’t Quality of Or., 511 U.S. 93, 99","paragraph_id":"para_345"},{"text":"1 Unlike a suit against the board, a suit against Gavagni in her official capacity","paragraph_id":"para_346"},{"text":"for an injunction or in her individual capacity for damages isn’t barred by the","paragraph_id":"para_347"},{"text":"Eleventh Amendment. See Summit Med. Assocs., P.C. v. Pryor, 180 F.3d 1326,","paragraph_id":"para_348"},{"text":"1336 (11th Cir. 1999) (explaining that Ex parte Young creates “a long and well-","paragraph_id":"para_349"},{"text":"recognized exception” to Eleventh Amendment immunity “for suits against","paragraph_id":"para_350"},{"text":"state officers seeking prospective equitable relief to end continuing violations of","paragraph_id":"para_351"},{"text":"federal law” (citing Ex parte Young, 209 U.S. 123 (1908))); Hobbs v. Roberts, 999","paragraph_id":"para_352"},{"text":"F.2d 1526, 1528 (11th Cir. 1993) (“The Eleventh Amendment protects no per-","paragraph_id":"para_353"},{"text":"sonal assets in ‘individual’ or ‘personal’ capacity suits in federal court.” (citing","paragraph_id":"para_354"},{"text":"Hafer v. Melo, 502 U.S. 21, 25 (1991))).","paragraph_id":"para_355"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 13 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_356"},{"text":"14 Opinion of the Court 24-13543","paragraph_id":"para_357"},{"text":"(1994) (citation modified). Discrimination “simply means differen-","paragraph_id":"para_358"},{"text":"tial treatment of in-state and out-of-state economic interests that","paragraph_id":"para_359"},{"text":"benefits the former and burdens the latter.” Id.","paragraph_id":"para_360"},{"text":"Dormant Commerce Clause challenges fall into two “tiers.”","paragraph_id":"para_361"},{"text":"Bainbridge v. Turner, 311 F.3d 1104, 1108 (11th Cir. 2002) (citing","paragraph_id":"para_362"},{"text":"Brown-Forman Distillers Corp. v. N.Y. State Liquor Auth., 476 U.S. 573,","paragraph_id":"para_363"},{"text":"578–79 (1986)). If a challenged law discriminates facially or in prac-","paragraph_id":"para_364"},{"text":"tical effect, we usually deem it unconstitutional without “further","paragraph_id":"para_365"},{"text":"inquiry.” Id. at 1109 (quoting Brown-Forman Distillers Corp., 476","paragraph_id":"para_366"},{"text":"U.S. at 579). A law discriminates facially when it “discriminates","paragraph_id":"para_367"},{"text":"against interstate commerce” by its plain text, e.g., Fla. Transp.","paragraph_id":"para_368"},{"text":"Servs., Inc. v. Miami-Dade Cnty., 703 F.3d 1230, 1243 (11th Cir. 2012),","paragraph_id":"para_369"},{"text":"irrespective of its purpose or justification, Or. Waste Sys., Inc., 511","paragraph_id":"para_370"},{"text":"U.S. at 100. It discriminates in practical effect when, despite neutral","paragraph_id":"para_371"},{"text":"text, it still operates to favor in-state interests over out-of-state","paragraph_id":"para_372"},{"text":"ones. Locke, 634 F.3d at 1192–93. If, however, the law “advances a","paragraph_id":"para_373"},{"text":"legitimate local interest” and only indirectly burdens interstate","paragraph_id":"para_374"},{"text":"commerce, then we move from the first tier to the second. Fla.","paragraph_id":"para_375"},{"text":"Transp. Servs., Inc., 703 F.3d at 1244. At the second tier, the chal-","paragraph_id":"para_376"},{"text":"lenged law is constitutional unless the burden it imposes “clearly","paragraph_id":"para_377"},{"text":"exceeds the local benefits.” Id. (quoting Island Silver & Spice, Inc. v.","paragraph_id":"para_378"},{"text":"Islamorada, 542 F.3d 844, 846 (11th Cir. 2008)); see generally Pike v.","paragraph_id":"para_379"},{"text":"Bruce Church, Inc., 397 U.S. 137 (1970).","paragraph_id":"para_380"},{"text":"Because the dormant Commerce Clause “is not so rigid as","paragraph_id":"para_381"},{"text":"to be controlled by the form by which a [s]tate erects barriers to","paragraph_id":"para_382"},{"text":"commerce,” West Lynn Creamery, Inc. v. Healy, 512 U.S. 186, 201","paragraph_id":"para_383"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 14 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_384"},{"text":"24-13543 Opinion of the Court 15","paragraph_id":"para_385"},{"text":"(1994), “‘no clear line’ separat[es] discriminatory from non-discrim-","paragraph_id":"para_386"},{"text":"inatory state regulations,” Fla. Transp. Servs., Inc., 703 F.3d at 1244","paragraph_id":"para_387"},{"text":"(quoting Brown-Forman Distillers Corp., 476 U.S. at 579). For each","paragraph_id":"para_388"},{"text":"challenged law, we perform a “sensitive, case-by-case analysis[.]”","paragraph_id":"para_389"},{"text":"West Lynn Creamery, Inc., 512 U.S. at 201. Generally, though, a dis-","paragraph_id":"para_390"},{"text":"criminatory law acts against either out-of-state actors or out-of-","paragraph_id":"para_391"},{"text":"state articles of commerce.","paragraph_id":"para_392"},{"text":"By actors, we mean the businesses that wish to compete in","paragraph_id":"para_393"},{"text":"an in-state market. See, e.g., Lewis v. BT Inv. Managers, Inc., 447 U.S.","paragraph_id":"para_394"},{"text":"27, 42 (1980) (striking down a Florida statute that barred out-of-","paragraph_id":"para_395"},{"text":"state bank holding and trust companies from the in-state invest-","paragraph_id":"para_396"},{"text":"ment-advisory market). And by articles of commerce, we mean","paragraph_id":"para_397"},{"text":"the goods and services for which that in-state market exists. See,","paragraph_id":"para_398"},{"text":"e.g., City of Philadelphia v. New Jersey, 437 U.S. 617, 626–27 (1978)","paragraph_id":"para_399"},{"text":"(holding that a state may not discriminate against out-of-state arti-","paragraph_id":"para_400"},{"text":"cles of commerce based on their origin); see also Camps New-","paragraph_id":"para_401"},{"text":"found/Owatonna, Inc. v. Town of Harrison, 520 U.S. 564, 573–74, 577","paragraph_id":"para_402"},{"text":"n.10 (1997) (holding that services can be articles of commerce).","paragraph_id":"para_403"},{"text":"Whatever form the alleged discrimination takes, we wield","paragraph_id":"para_404"},{"text":"our power to enforce the dormant Commerce Clause with “ex-","paragraph_id":"para_405"},{"text":"treme caution[.]” Nat’l Pork Producers Council v. Ross, 598 U.S. 356,","paragraph_id":"para_406"},{"text":"390 (2023) (citation modified). It isn’t a “roving license for federal","paragraph_id":"para_407"},{"text":"courts to decide what activities are appropriate for state and local","paragraph_id":"para_408"},{"text":"government to undertake[.]” United Haulers Ass’n, Inc. v. Oneida-","paragraph_id":"para_409"},{"text":"Herkimer Solid Waste Mgmt. Auth., 550 U.S. 330, 343 (2007). Accord-","paragraph_id":"para_410"},{"text":"ingly, we’ll hold a law unconstitutional “only ‘where the infraction","paragraph_id":"para_411"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 15 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_412"},{"text":"16 Opinion of the Court 24-13543","paragraph_id":"para_413"},{"text":"is clear.’” Nat’l Pork Producers Council, 598 U.S. at 390 (quoting Con-","paragraph_id":"para_414"},{"text":"way v. Taylor’s Executor, 66 U.S. (1 Black) 603, 634 (1862)). A law","paragraph_id":"para_415"},{"text":"isn’t necessarily nondiscriminatory simply because it “applies alike","paragraph_id":"para_416"},{"text":"to the people of all the [s]tates,” but neither is it discriminatory","paragraph_id":"para_417"},{"text":"simply because it has “incidental negative effects on some . . . out-","paragraph_id":"para_418"},{"text":"of-state market participants[.]” Fla. Transp. Servs., Inc., 703 F.3d at","paragraph_id":"para_419"},{"text":"1244, 1247 (citation modified).","paragraph_id":"para_420"},{"text":"Hernandez and Drwencke argue that the experienced-appli-","paragraph_id":"para_421"},{"text":"cant rule discriminates both facially and in practical effect against","paragraph_id":"para_422"},{"text":"out-of-state actors and articles alike. But, as the district court ruled,","paragraph_id":"para_423"},{"text":"they didn’t state a facial claim and didn’t create a dispute of material","paragraph_id":"para_424"},{"text":"fact on their practical-effect claim.","paragraph_id":"para_425"},{"text":"1. The Facial Claim","paragraph_id":"para_426"},{"text":"According to Hernandez and Drwencke, the experienced-","paragraph_id":"para_427"},{"text":"applicant rule facially discriminates by targeting either out-of-state","paragraph_id":"para_428"},{"text":"experienced applicants—an actor theory—or out-of-state law li-","paragraph_id":"para_429"},{"text":"censes—as they’d have it, an article-of-commerce theory. In most","paragraph_id":"para_430"},{"text":"of their briefing to the district court, they argued only the former","paragraph_id":"para_431"},{"text":"theory; now, they argue only the latter. Parties may not raise “en-","paragraph_id":"para_432"},{"text":"tirely new categor[ies] of law” or a “wholly different legal frame-","paragraph_id":"para_433"},{"text":"work” for the first time on appeal, Gould v. Interface, Inc., 153 F.4th","paragraph_id":"para_434"},{"text":"1346, 1357 (11th Cir. 2025), but both theories fail anyway.","paragraph_id":"para_435"},{"text":"a. The Actor Theory","paragraph_id":"para_436"},{"text":"As the district court explained, Hernandez and Drwencke’s","paragraph_id":"para_437"},{"text":"facial actor theory didn’t succeed because the text of the experi-","paragraph_id":"para_438"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 16 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_439"},{"text":"24-13543 Opinion of the Court 17","paragraph_id":"para_440"},{"text":"enced-applicant rule doesn’t distinguish between experienced ap-","paragraph_id":"para_441"},{"text":"plicants based on their state of origin. Hernandez, 2022 WL","paragraph_id":"para_442"},{"text":"20288237, at *6. Whether a law facially discriminates against out-","paragraph_id":"para_443"},{"text":"of-state actors depends on whether it specifies different treatment","paragraph_id":"para_444"},{"text":"for out-of-state actors.","paragraph_id":"para_445"},{"text":"For example, Florida’s old regulatory scheme prohibiting","paragraph_id":"para_446"},{"text":"out-of-state but not in-state wineries from delivering alcohol di-","paragraph_id":"para_447"},{"text":"rectly to consumers was facially discriminatory. Bainbridge, 311","paragraph_id":"para_448"},{"text":"F.3d at 1109. But a Florida statute “expressly regulat[ing] all and","paragraph_id":"para_449"},{"text":"only ‘business[es] operating in [Florida]’—both local and out-of-","paragraph_id":"para_450"},{"text":"state”—wasn’t. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd v. State Surgeon","paragraph_id":"para_451"},{"text":"Gen., Fla. Dep’t of Health, 50 F.4th 1126, 1142 (11th Cir. 2022); see","paragraph_id":"para_452"},{"text":"Fresenius Med. Care Holdings, Inc. v. Tucker, 704 F.3d 935, 942–43","paragraph_id":"para_453"},{"text":"(11th Cir. 2013) (same). Likewise, in Locke, we held that Florida’s","paragraph_id":"para_454"},{"text":"“interior design license requirement” didn’t facially discriminate","paragraph_id":"para_455"},{"text":"because “[t]he statutory text provide[d] that both Florida and out-","paragraph_id":"para_456"},{"text":"of-state interior designers need a Florida license to practice [interior","paragraph_id":"para_457"},{"text":"design].” 634 F.3d at 1192.","paragraph_id":"para_458"},{"text":"The experienced-applicant rule works the same way as the","paragraph_id":"para_459"},{"text":"statutes in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Locke. By its terms,","paragraph_id":"para_460"},{"text":"the rule demands a higher fee of all “[a]pplicants who have been","paragraph_id":"para_461"},{"text":"admitted to the bar in any jurisdiction for a period in excess of","paragraph_id":"para_462"},{"text":"[twelve] months”—in other words, all experienced applicants. Fla.","paragraph_id":"para_463"},{"text":"Bar Admission R. 2-23.4. The rule doesn’t make exceptions for Flo-","paragraph_id":"para_464"},{"text":"ridians. See generally Fla. Bar Admission R. 2-23. A Floridian barred","paragraph_id":"para_465"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 17 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_466"},{"text":"18 Opinion of the Court 24-13543","paragraph_id":"para_467"},{"text":"for two years in Wyoming would pay the higher fee; a new appli-","paragraph_id":"para_468"},{"text":"cant from Rhode Island wouldn’t. Hernandez, 2022 WL 20288237,","paragraph_id":"para_469"},{"text":"at *6. The experienced-applicant rule therefore doesn’t facially dis-","paragraph_id":"para_470"},{"text":"criminate against out-of-state actors. See Norwegian Cruise Line","paragraph_id":"para_471"},{"text":"Holdings Ltd, 50 F.4th at 1142; Locke, 634 F.3d at 1192.","paragraph_id":"para_472"},{"text":"For the same reason, other circuits have rejected facial","paragraph_id":"para_473"},{"text":"claims against analogous attorney-licensing rules. The Third Cir-","paragraph_id":"para_474"},{"text":"cuit, for instance, rejected a facial challenge to a Pennsylvania rule","paragraph_id":"para_475"},{"text":"limiting admission by motion solely to attorneys barred in recipro-","paragraph_id":"para_476"},{"text":"cal states. Nat’l Ass’n for the Advancement of Multijurisdiction Prac. v.","paragraph_id":"para_477"},{"text":"Castille, 799 F.3d 216, 218–19, 225 (3d Cir. 2015). Two attorneys","paragraph_id":"para_478"},{"text":"admitted in non-reciprocal states alleged that the rule facially vio-","paragraph_id":"para_479"},{"text":"lated the dormant Commerce Clause by excluding residents from","paragraph_id":"para_480"},{"text":"those states. Id. That challenge failed, the Third Circuit explained,","paragraph_id":"para_481"},{"text":"because the rule “does not classify attorneys based on residency,","paragraph_id":"para_482"},{"text":"but rather, their state of bar admission[.]” Id. at 219, 225; see also","paragraph_id":"para_483"},{"text":"Heffner v. Murphy, 745 F.3d 56, 73–74 (3d Cir. 2014) (holding that,","paragraph_id":"para_484"},{"text":"since “[a]ny individual or entity [could] obtain the required license","paragraph_id":"para_485"},{"text":"to operate a funeral home” without needing to satisfy any require-","paragraph_id":"para_486"},{"text":"ment of “state residency or citizenship,” a state statute imposing","paragraph_id":"para_487"},{"text":"restrictions on funeral director licenses wasn’t facially discrimina-","paragraph_id":"para_488"},{"text":"tory). The Ninth Circuit reached the same conclusion with respect","paragraph_id":"para_489"},{"text":"to a near-identical Arizona reciprocity rule:","paragraph_id":"para_490"},{"text":"If a citizen of Arizona is admitted to the bar in a state","paragraph_id":"para_491"},{"text":"that does not share reciprocity with Arizona, then the","paragraph_id":"para_492"},{"text":"attorney is not eligible to be admitted to the Arizona","paragraph_id":"para_493"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 18 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_494"},{"text":"24-13543 Opinion of the Court 19","paragraph_id":"para_495"},{"text":"Bar on motion, irrespective of the attorney’s resi-","paragraph_id":"para_496"},{"text":"dency or citizenship status.","paragraph_id":"para_497"},{"text":"[ . . . ]","paragraph_id":"para_498"},{"text":"[T]he . . . [r]ule does not discriminate against out-of-","paragraph_id":"para_499"},{"text":"state interests and favor in-state interests. Arizona re-","paragraph_id":"para_500"},{"text":"quires the same of its citizens as it does citizens of","paragraph_id":"para_501"},{"text":"other states.","paragraph_id":"para_502"},{"text":"Nat’l Ass’n for the Advancement of Multijurisdiction Prac. v. Berch, 773","paragraph_id":"para_503"},{"text":"F.3d 1037, 1046, 1049 (9th Cir. 2014).","paragraph_id":"para_504"},{"text":"Hernandez and Drwencke argue that the Pennsylvania and","paragraph_id":"para_505"},{"text":"Arizona reciprocity rules “simply classify applicants by virtue of","paragraph_id":"para_506"},{"text":"where they obtained their law license,” whereas the experienced-","paragraph_id":"para_507"},{"text":"applicant rule “taxes” them. But that’s a distinction without a dif-","paragraph_id":"para_508"},{"text":"ference. Practically speaking, any state-created barrier to interstate","paragraph_id":"para_509"},{"text":"commerce surmountable by payment is a surcharge or “tax.” A","paragraph_id":"para_510"},{"text":"rule requiring an out-of-state attorney to either bar himself in a re-","paragraph_id":"para_511"},{"text":"ciprocal state or retake the bar in the target state would certainly","paragraph_id":"para_512"},{"text":"seem to “tax” that attorney. Yet that didn’t deter the Third and","paragraph_id":"para_513"},{"text":"Ninth Circuits from concluding, as we do here, that an attorney-","paragraph_id":"para_514"},{"text":"licensing rule doesn’t facially discriminate against out-of-state at-","paragraph_id":"para_515"},{"text":"torneys when the rule is, by its text, residency- and origin-neutral.","paragraph_id":"para_516"},{"text":"Floridian or out-of-stater, every experienced applicant pays","paragraph_id":"para_517"},{"text":"the higher fee. The district court correctly determined that the ac-","paragraph_id":"para_518"},{"text":"tor theory can’t sustain Hernandez and Drwencke’s facial-discrim-","paragraph_id":"para_519"},{"text":"ination claim.","paragraph_id":"para_520"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 19 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_521"},{"text":"20 Opinion of the Court 24-13543","paragraph_id":"para_522"},{"text":"b. The Article-of-Commerce Theory","paragraph_id":"para_523"},{"text":"On appeal, Hernandez and Drwencke recast the experi-","paragraph_id":"para_524"},{"text":"enced-applicant rule as a surcharge on an article of commerce: the","paragraph_id":"para_525"},{"text":"out-of-state law license itself. “Law licenses (and legal services pro-","paragraph_id":"para_526"},{"text":"vided pursuant to them),” they claim, “are quintessential ‘eco-","paragraph_id":"para_527"},{"text":"nomic interests.’” Ostensibly, when experienced applicants seek to","paragraph_id":"para_528"},{"text":"“bring” their out-of-state law licenses into Florida, they pay more","paragraph_id":"para_529"},{"text":"under the experienced-applicant rule. So, Hernandez and","paragraph_id":"para_530"},{"text":"Drwencke contend, the experienced-applicant rule unconstitution-","paragraph_id":"para_531"},{"text":"ally discriminates against those interests just like any law that","paragraph_id":"para_532"},{"text":"“tax[es] a transaction or incident more heavily when it crosses state","paragraph_id":"para_533"},{"text":"lines than when it occurs entirely within the [s]tate.” Or. Waste","paragraph_id":"para_534"},{"text":"Sys., Inc., 511 U.S. at 99 (quoting Chem. Waste Mgmt., Inc. v. Hunt,","paragraph_id":"para_535"},{"text":"504 U.S. 334, 342 (1992)).","paragraph_id":"para_536"},{"text":"The facial article-of-commerce theory fails to sustain a","paragraph_id":"para_537"},{"text":"dormant Commerce Clause claim for two reasons. First, facial-dis-","paragraph_id":"para_538"},{"text":"crimination theories depend on the plain text of the law. E.g., Fla.","paragraph_id":"para_539"},{"text":"Transp. Servs., Inc., 703 F.3d at 1243. A facial article-of-commerce","paragraph_id":"para_540"},{"text":"theory, then, hinges on whether the plain text picks out an article","paragraph_id":"para_541"},{"text":"to favor or disfavor based on origin. In Oregon Waste, for instance,","paragraph_id":"para_542"},{"text":"Oregon imposed a surcharge on the disposal of solid waste in its","paragraph_id":"para_543"},{"text":"landfills. 511 U.S. at 99. That surcharge was “almost three times","paragraph_id":"para_544"},{"text":"greater” per ton of out-of-state waste than per ton of in-state waste.","paragraph_id":"para_545"},{"text":"Id. “The statutory determinant for which fee applie[d]” was","paragraph_id":"para_546"},{"text":"“whether or not the waste was ‘generated out-of-state.’” Id. (quot-","paragraph_id":"para_547"},{"text":"ing Or. Rev. Stat. § 459.297(1) (1991)).","paragraph_id":"para_548"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 20 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_549"},{"text":"24-13543 Opinion of the Court 21","paragraph_id":"para_550"},{"text":"Indeed, it appears that the Supreme Court has never held","paragraph_id":"para_551"},{"text":"that a law facially discriminates against an article of commerce un-","paragraph_id":"para_552"},{"text":"less the law’s plain text made it possible to identify the article fa-","paragraph_id":"para_553"},{"text":"vored (or disfavored) by origin. See, e.g., Chem. Waste Mgmt., Inc.,","paragraph_id":"para_554"},{"text":"504 U.S. at 342 (holding that Alabama’s surcharge on the disposal","paragraph_id":"para_555"},{"text":"of “hazardous waste generated in [s]tates other than Alabama” was","paragraph_id":"para_556"},{"text":"facially discriminatory); Wyoming v. Oklahoma, 502 U.S. 437, 455","paragraph_id":"para_557"},{"text":"(1992) (holding that an Oklahoma coal-supply law “on its","paragraph_id":"para_558"},{"text":"face . . . discriminate[d] against interstate commerce” where “the","paragraph_id":"para_559"},{"text":"[a]ct expressly reserve[d] a segment of the Oklahoma coal market","paragraph_id":"para_560"},{"text":"for Oklahoma-mined coal, to the exclusion of coal mined in other","paragraph_id":"para_561"},{"text":"[s]tates”). In all these cases, the challenged law named the article—","paragraph_id":"para_562"},{"text":"waste, coal, and the like—and drew a line through it by origin, spar-","paragraph_id":"para_563"},{"text":"ing the in-state article and burdening the out-of-state one.","paragraph_id":"para_564"},{"text":"The experienced-applicant rule doesn’t mark any article for","paragraph_id":"para_565"},{"text":"worse treatment based on its origin. It’s triggered only when an","paragraph_id":"para_566"},{"text":"experienced applicant asks Florida for something his out-of-state li-","paragraph_id":"para_567"},{"text":"cense never conferred: authorization to practice in Florida’s legal","paragraph_id":"para_568"},{"text":"market. That an experienced applicant pays more for that author-","paragraph_id":"para_569"},{"text":"ization is a consequence of his experience, not the origin of his ex-","paragraph_id":"para_570"},{"text":"isting license. A lawyer barred in Michigan for eleven months","paragraph_id":"para_571"},{"text":"wouldn’t pay the higher fee. See Fla. Bar Admission R. 2-23.4. He’d","paragraph_id":"para_572"},{"text":"have to be barred for over another month for the higher fee to kick","paragraph_id":"para_573"},{"text":"in. Id.","paragraph_id":"para_574"},{"text":"Nor does an out-of-state license lose its value once it crosses","paragraph_id":"para_575"},{"text":"into Florida. Instead, an experienced applicant can keep using his","paragraph_id":"para_576"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 21 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_577"},{"text":"22 Opinion of the Court 24-13543","paragraph_id":"para_578"},{"text":"out-of-state license to practice his licensing state’s law—so long as","paragraph_id":"para_579"},{"text":"he doesn’t practice Florida law. Fla. Bar re Advisory Op.–Out-of-State","paragraph_id":"para_580"},{"text":"Att’y Working Remotely from Fla. Home, 318 So. 3d 538, 542 (Fla.","paragraph_id":"para_581"},{"text":"2021) (approving proposed advisory opinion). Neither the experi-","paragraph_id":"para_582"},{"text":"enced-applicant rule nor any other Florida law requires the experi-","paragraph_id":"para_583"},{"text":"enced applicant to pay the higher fee—or any fee—simply to have","paragraph_id":"para_584"},{"text":"and use his out-of-state license within Florida. See id.","paragraph_id":"para_585"},{"text":"To get around these facts, Hernandez and Drwencke con-","paragraph_id":"para_586"},{"text":"flate out-of-state law licenses with out-of-state “law practice[s]” and","paragraph_id":"para_587"},{"text":"“established business interests” writ large. The experienced-appli-","paragraph_id":"para_588"},{"text":"cant rule, they complain, effectively taxes experienced applicants","paragraph_id":"para_589"},{"text":"when they try to move their out-of-state “practices” or “busi-","paragraph_id":"para_590"},{"text":"ness[es]” into Florida, facially discriminating against those things","paragraph_id":"para_591"},{"text":"based on their origin. Hernandez and Drwencke were entitled to","paragraph_id":"para_592"},{"text":"plead that the experienced-applicant rule has some downstream","paragraph_id":"para_593"},{"text":"consequence, but that’s not a facial attack; the text of the rule","paragraph_id":"para_594"},{"text":"doesn’t mention “practices” or “businesses.” That’s simply an at-","paragraph_id":"para_595"},{"text":"tack on the practical effect of the rule, and must be treated as such.","paragraph_id":"para_596"},{"text":"* * *","paragraph_id":"para_597"},{"text":"Hernandez and Drwencke’s facial article-of-commerce the-","paragraph_id":"para_598"},{"text":"ory has a second problem. Law licenses aren’t articles of com-","paragraph_id":"para_599"},{"text":"merce because they’re insufficiently similar to each other. “[A]ny","paragraph_id":"para_600"},{"text":"notion of discrimination assumes a comparison of substantially","paragraph_id":"para_601"},{"text":"similar entities.” Gen. Motors Corp. v. Tracy, 519 U.S. 278, 298 (1997).","paragraph_id":"para_602"},{"text":"“This is so for the simple reason that [a] difference in products may","paragraph_id":"para_603"},{"text":"mean that . . . different entities serve different markets, and would","paragraph_id":"para_604"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 22 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_605"},{"text":"24-13543 Opinion of the Court 23","paragraph_id":"para_606"},{"text":"continue to do so even if the supposedly discriminatory burden","paragraph_id":"para_607"},{"text":"were removed.” Id. at 299. When there’s no competition between","paragraph_id":"para_608"},{"text":"the “supposedly favored and disfavored entities in a single market,”","paragraph_id":"para_609"},{"text":"there can be no discrimination. Id. at 300.","paragraph_id":"para_610"},{"text":"In the Supreme Court’s article-of-commerce cases, articles","paragraph_id":"para_611"},{"text":"of commerce are very often more than substantially similar.","paragraph_id":"para_612"},{"text":"They’re generally perfectly or near-perfectly fungible products and","paragraph_id":"para_613"},{"text":"services; there’s effectively a single nationwide market for them.","paragraph_id":"para_614"},{"text":"See, e.g., Or. Waste Sys., Inc., 511 U.S. at 101 n.5 (solid waste); C&A","paragraph_id":"para_615"},{"text":"Carbone, Inc. v. Town of Clarkstown, 511 U.S. 383, 387 (1994) (solid-","paragraph_id":"para_616"},{"text":"waste disposal services); Chem. Waste Mgmt., Inc., 504 U.S. at 342","paragraph_id":"para_617"},{"text":"(hazardous waste); Wyoming, 502 U.S. at 455 (coal). And that","paragraph_id":"para_618"},{"text":"makes sense, especially with respect to facial claims. When two","paragraph_id":"para_619"},{"text":"articles are materially different, there’s a “reason[] apart from","paragraph_id":"para_620"},{"text":"[their] origin” why state law can treat them differently, Or. Waste","paragraph_id":"para_621"},{"text":"Sys., Inc., 511 U.S. at 101 n.5, and they probably serve different mar-","paragraph_id":"para_622"},{"text":"kets, see Tracy, 519 U.S. at 299. Tracy, for example, held that natural","paragraph_id":"para_623"},{"text":"gas “bundled with . . . services and protections” was a different","paragraph_id":"para_624"},{"text":"product from “unbundled” natural gas because bundled gas served","paragraph_id":"para_625"},{"text":"the residential-consumer market and unbundled gas served the","paragraph_id":"para_626"},{"text":"large-volume industrial market. See id. at 293–98, 301–04. The","paragraph_id":"para_627"},{"text":"products were therefore insufficiently similar to ground a discrim-","paragraph_id":"para_628"},{"text":"ination claim. See id.","paragraph_id":"para_629"},{"text":"The same is true of law licenses. Because “the licensing and","paragraph_id":"para_630"},{"text":"regulation of lawyers has been left exclusively to the","paragraph_id":"para_631"},{"text":"[s]tates . . . within their respective jurisdictions,” Leis v. Flynt,","paragraph_id":"para_632"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 23 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_633"},{"text":"24 Opinion of the Court 24-13543","paragraph_id":"para_634"},{"text":"439 U.S. 438, 442 (1979), a law license is never anything more than","paragraph_id":"para_635"},{"text":"a state’s authorization to enter that state’s legal market. So, not","paragraph_id":"para_636"},{"text":"only are law licenses not fungible or nearly fungible, they’re not","paragraph_id":"para_637"},{"text":"tradable or transferable. Yes, lawyers themselves—actors, not arti-","paragraph_id":"para_638"},{"text":"cles of commerce—compete with each other in providing legal ser-","paragraph_id":"para_639"},{"text":"vices. And a law license allows a lawyer to provide legal services","paragraph_id":"para_640"},{"text":"in a single state’s market. But a law license isn’t an article or trans-","paragraph_id":"para_641"},{"text":"action that enables lawyers to compete in what is effectively a sin-","paragraph_id":"para_642"},{"text":"gle nationwide market for legal services. See Tracy, 519 U.S. at 299.","paragraph_id":"para_643"},{"text":"An out-of-state law license doesn’t allow a lawyer to compete in","paragraph_id":"para_644"},{"text":"Florida, and vice versa.","paragraph_id":"para_645"},{"text":"Hernandez and Drwencke’s facial article-of-commerce the-","paragraph_id":"para_646"},{"text":"ory thus fails. Not only does the experienced-applicant rule not","paragraph_id":"para_647"},{"text":"draw lines between articles of commerce based on their origin, but","paragraph_id":"para_648"},{"text":"it doesn’t concern articles of commerce.","paragraph_id":"para_649"},{"text":"2. The Practical-Effect Claim","paragraph_id":"para_650"},{"text":"Of course, the failure of Hernandez and Drwencke’s facial","paragraph_id":"para_651"},{"text":"theories doesn’t alone doom their claim. A state law that doesn’t","paragraph_id":"para_652"},{"text":"facially discriminate might nevertheless discriminate in practical ef-","paragraph_id":"para_653"},{"text":"fect. The experienced-applicant rule, however, does not.","paragraph_id":"para_654"},{"text":"Even “neutrally-worded statutes are unconstitutional under","paragraph_id":"para_655"},{"text":"the [d]ormant Commerce Clause if they have a discriminatory","paragraph_id":"para_656"},{"text":"[practical] effect on out-of-state residents[.]” Locke, 634 F.3d at","paragraph_id":"para_657"},{"text":"1192–93. But “[t]he fact that the burden of a state regulation falls","paragraph_id":"para_658"},{"text":"on some interstate companies does not, by itself, establish a claim","paragraph_id":"para_659"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 24 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_660"},{"text":"24-13543 Opinion of the Court 25","paragraph_id":"para_661"},{"text":"of discrimination against interstate commerce.” Exxon Corp. v. Gov-","paragraph_id":"para_662"},{"text":"ernor of Md., 437 U.S. 117, 126 (1978). To “determin[e] whether a","paragraph_id":"para_663"},{"text":"neutrally-worded state law has a discriminatory impact,” we gen-","paragraph_id":"para_664"},{"text":"erally consider three factors: (1) whether the state law “dispropor-","paragraph_id":"para_665"},{"text":"tionately” “‘exclude[s] a class of predominantly out-of-state [resi-","paragraph_id":"para_666"},{"text":"dents]’ from a particular market”; (2) whether it “imposes costs on","paragraph_id":"para_667"},{"text":"out-of-state residents that in-state residents do not have to bear”;","paragraph_id":"para_668"},{"text":"and (3) whether it was “motivated by protectionist purposes[.]”","paragraph_id":"para_669"},{"text":"Locke, 634 F.3d at 1193–94 (first citing Exxon Corp., 437 U.S. at 137","paragraph_id":"para_670"},{"text":"(Blackmun, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part); then citing","paragraph_id":"para_671"},{"text":"Hunt v. Wash. State Apple Advert. Comm’n, 432 U.S. 333, 348–49, 351–","paragraph_id":"para_672"},{"text":"53 (1977); and then citing Granholm v. Heald, 544 U.S. 460, 472","paragraph_id":"para_673"},{"text":"(2005)).2","paragraph_id":"para_674"},{"text":"None of the Locke factors favor Hernandez and Drwencke.","paragraph_id":"para_675"},{"text":"Start with exclusion. The experienced-applicant rule doesn’t suffi-","paragraph_id":"para_676"},{"text":"ciently “exclude” out-of-state experienced applicants from applying","paragraph_id":"para_677"},{"text":"to the Florida Bar. Locke held that a law that “somewhat restrict[ed]","paragraph_id":"para_678"},{"text":"[nonresident] entry” but “d[id] not block entry altogether” didn’t","paragraph_id":"para_679"},{"text":"sufficiently exclude nonresidents. Id. at 1193. What this factor con-","paragraph_id":"para_680"},{"text":"demns is the “effective elimination” of out-of-state entrants to the","paragraph_id":"para_681"},{"text":"market. See Island Silver & Spice, Inc., 542 F.3d at 846–48. A law","paragraph_id":"para_682"},{"text":"that merely makes entry costlier for some out-of-state actors falls","paragraph_id":"para_683"},{"text":"well short. See Exxon Corp., 437 U.S. at 126.","paragraph_id":"para_684"},{"text":"2 Locke used both “disproportionately” and “predominantly,” but “dispropor-","paragraph_id":"para_685"},{"text":"tionately” was Locke’s own word and the decisional basis for that part of its","paragraph_id":"para_686"},{"text":"analysis. See Locke, 634 F.3d at 1192–94.","paragraph_id":"para_687"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 25 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_688"},{"text":"26 Opinion of the Court 24-13543","paragraph_id":"para_689"},{"text":"The experienced-applicant rule doesn’t “block [nonresident]","paragraph_id":"para_690"},{"text":"entry altogether.” Locke, 634 F.3d at 1193. The evidence adduced","paragraph_id":"para_691"},{"text":"at summary judgment showed that, since the board began tracking","paragraph_id":"para_692"},{"text":"experienced applicants’ mailing addresses in 2008, over 7,600 expe-","paragraph_id":"para_693"},{"text":"rienced applicants have sought admission. Hernandez IV, 2024 WL","paragraph_id":"para_694"},{"text":"2156499, at *3 (collecting evidence). Fifty-five percent of them had","paragraph_id":"para_695"},{"text":"out-of-state addresses. Id. The number of out-of-state applicants","paragraph_id":"para_696"},{"text":"has even increased in recent years. Id. On this evidence, it’s clear","paragraph_id":"para_697"},{"text":"that experienced applicants—irrespective of origin—aren’t ex-","paragraph_id":"para_698"},{"text":"cluded from applying. And since out-of-staters and Floridians","paragraph_id":"para_699"},{"text":"make up nearly equal proportions of experienced applicants, the","paragraph_id":"para_700"},{"text":"experienced-applicant rule doesn’t even “disproportionately” im-","paragraph_id":"para_701"},{"text":"pact out-of-state applicants. Locke, 634 F.3d at 1194.","paragraph_id":"para_702"},{"text":"Hernandez and Drwencke answer that Locke overstated the","paragraph_id":"para_703"},{"text":"standard: complete exclusion isn’t required. In support, they cite","paragraph_id":"para_704"},{"text":"Chemical Waste Management, in which out-of-state hazardous waste","paragraph_id":"para_705"},{"text":"was subjected to a higher fee but not excluded entirely from Ala-","paragraph_id":"para_706"},{"text":"bama’s disposal market, 504 U.S. at 342, and Hunt, in which the","paragraph_id":"para_707"},{"text":"Court struck down a North Carolina law that prohibited all apple","paragraph_id":"para_708"},{"text":"sellers from labeling apples with state-specific grades, even though","paragraph_id":"para_709"},{"text":"that prohibition hurt but didn’t fully exclude Washington apple","paragraph_id":"para_710"},{"text":"sellers, 432 U.S. at 335. But they misread both cases. In Chemical","paragraph_id":"para_711"},{"text":"Waste Management, Alabama applied the challenged surcharge to","paragraph_id":"para_712"},{"text":"all—and only—out-of-state hazardous waste. 504 U.S. at 342.","paragraph_id":"para_713"},{"text":"Since all out-of-state waste but no in-state waste was affected, it","paragraph_id":"para_714"},{"text":"was necessarily true that the surcharge affected out-of-state waste","paragraph_id":"para_715"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 26 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_716"},{"text":"24-13543 Opinion of the Court 27","paragraph_id":"para_717"},{"text":"“disproportionately.” See id. Similarly, in Hunt, the label rule af-","paragraph_id":"para_718"},{"text":"fected all Washington-based apple sellers, while North Carolina-","paragraph_id":"para_719"},{"text":"based sellers were “unaffected.” 432 U.S. at 351. That’s another","paragraph_id":"para_720"},{"text":"“disproportionate” impact on out-of-state economic interests. See","paragraph_id":"para_721"},{"text":"id.","paragraph_id":"para_722"},{"text":"Next, the experienced-applicant rule doesn’t impose costs","paragraph_id":"para_723"},{"text":"on out-of-state residents that Florida residents don’t have to bear.","paragraph_id":"para_724"},{"text":"If slightly over half of experienced applicants were from out of","paragraph_id":"para_725"},{"text":"state, then slightly under half were from Florida. So, from the","paragraph_id":"para_726"},{"text":"proper perspective, the rule not only burdens in-state applicants,","paragraph_id":"para_727"},{"text":"but it burdens them to roughly the same extent as out-of-staters.","paragraph_id":"para_728"},{"text":"See Locke, 634 F.3d at 1193 (“Any cost imposed on out-of-state resi-","paragraph_id":"para_729"},{"text":"dents is one that Florida residents must also bear, because they too","paragraph_id":"para_730"},{"text":"must obtain a license to practice interior design[.]”); Fresenius, 704","paragraph_id":"para_731"},{"text":"F.3d at 942–43 (“[B]ecause the law operates to burden in-state and","paragraph_id":"para_732"},{"text":"out-of-state [market participants] alike, [a]ppellants fail to convince","paragraph_id":"para_733"},{"text":"us that the [challenged law] has the practical effect of discriminat-","paragraph_id":"para_734"},{"text":"ing against interstate commerce.”).","paragraph_id":"para_735"},{"text":"In response, Hernandez and Drwencke ask us to scrutinize","paragraph_id":"para_736"},{"text":"“the discrepancy between” the percentage of out-of-state experi-","paragraph_id":"para_737"},{"text":"enced applicants (again, around fifty-five percent) and the percent-","paragraph_id":"para_738"},{"text":"age of in-state new applicants (around eighty-seven percent). “Be-","paragraph_id":"para_739"},{"text":"cause over [fifty-five] percent of experienced-attorney applicants—","paragraph_id":"para_740"},{"text":"but just [thirteen] percent of new attorney applicants—live outside","paragraph_id":"para_741"},{"text":"Florida,” they argue, the experienced-applicant rule “burdens more","paragraph_id":"para_742"},{"text":"than four times as many non-Florida residents as it benefits.” Yet","paragraph_id":"para_743"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 27 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_744"},{"text":"28 Opinion of the Court 24-13543","paragraph_id":"para_745"},{"text":"that’s just the argument that “the statute is discriminatory because","paragraph_id":"para_746"},{"text":"it will apply most often to out-of-state entities,” a sally that “avails","paragraph_id":"para_747"},{"text":"[them] little” in substantiating a practical-effect claim. CTS Corp. v.","paragraph_id":"para_748"},{"text":"Dynamics Corp. of Am., 481 U.S. 69, 88 (1987) (rebuffing this argu-","paragraph_id":"para_749"},{"text":"ment and holding that “[b]ecause nothing in the [challenged law]","paragraph_id":"para_750"},{"text":"imposes a greater burden on out-of-state offerors than it does on","paragraph_id":"para_751"},{"text":"similarly situated [in-state] offerors, we reject the contention that","paragraph_id":"para_752"},{"text":"the [law] discriminates against interstate commerce”).","paragraph_id":"para_753"},{"text":"Finally, the third factor tips against Hernandez and","paragraph_id":"para_754"},{"text":"Drwencke too. The third factor asks whether the experienced-ap-","paragraph_id":"para_755"},{"text":"plicant rule “was motivated by protectionist purposes.” Locke, 634","paragraph_id":"para_756"},{"text":"F.3d at 1193 (citing Granholm, 544 U.S. at 472). Protectionism,","paragraph_id":"para_757"},{"text":"again, is regulation designed to benefit in-state economic interests","paragraph_id":"para_758"},{"text":"by burdening out-of-state competitors. Nat’l Pork Producers Council,","paragraph_id":"para_759"},{"text":"598 U.S. at 369; Davis, 553 U.S. at 337–38.","paragraph_id":"para_760"},{"text":"Measured against that standard, the record discloses no pro-","paragraph_id":"para_761"},{"text":"tectionist motive. The summary-judgment evidence showed that","paragraph_id":"para_762"},{"text":"the board proposed the rule, and later a fee increase, as part of an","paragraph_id":"para_763"},{"text":"“ongoing effort to pass on costs to the specific applicants whose","paragraph_id":"para_764"},{"text":"applications incur costs beyond the ordinary costs involved in the","paragraph_id":"para_765"},{"text":"routine processing of a bar application.” Hernandez V, 746","paragraph_id":"para_766"},{"text":"F. Supp. 3d at 1316. There’s just more to investigate for experi-","paragraph_id":"para_767"},{"text":"enced applicants than there is for new ones. The board must “ob-","paragraph_id":"para_768"},{"text":"tain[] and review[] applications submitted in other jurisdictions and","paragraph_id":"para_769"},{"text":"investigat[e] discrepancies, which may in turn require investigative","paragraph_id":"para_770"},{"text":"USCA11 Case: 24-13543 Document: 43-1 Date Filed: 10/09/2026 Page: 28 of 30","paragraph_id":"para_771"},{"text":"24-13543 Opinion of the Court 29","paragraph_id":"para_772"},{"text":"hearings,” on top of “investigating prior bar discipline and griev-","paragraph_id":"para_773"},{"text":"ances, malpractice claims, and court sanctions.” Id.","paragraph_id":"para_774"},{"text":"Hernandez and Drwencke say that motive is pretextual.","paragraph_id":"para_775"},{"text":"The fee brings in far more than the investigations cost, they point","paragraph_id":"para_776"},{"text":"out, and the board uses the surplus to discount the fees of law stu-","paragraph_id":"para_777"},{"text":"dents and new lawyers, who are mostly Floridians. But as we just","paragraph_id":"para_778"},{"text":"explained, a rule that “will apply most often to out-of-state entities”","paragraph_id":"para_779"},{"text":"isn’t discriminatory for that reason. CTS Corp., 481 U.S. at 88. Nei-","paragraph_id":"para_780"},{"text":"ther is a discount that goes to every new applicant, resident or not.","paragraph_id":"para_781"},{"text":"See Fla. Bar Admission R. 2-23.1–3. Nor does the experienced-ap-","paragraph_id":"para_782"},{"text":"plicant rule shield Florida lawyers from competition. After all, the","paragraph_id":"para_783"},{"text":"experienced applicants pay the fee so that they can enter the Florida","paragraph_id":"para_784"},{"text":"market for legal services.","paragraph_id":"para_785"},{"text":"* * *","paragraph_id":"para_786"},{"text":"In short, there’s no dispute of material fact on any of the","paragraph_id":"para_787"},{"text":"Locke factors. Applying the law to the undisputed evidence, the","paragraph_id":"para_788"},{"text":"district court properly granted summary judgment on the practical-","paragraph_id":"para_789"},{"text":"effect dormant Commerce Clause claim. Because the facial claim","paragraph_id":"para_790"},{"text":"was likewise correctly dismissed, no part of the dormant Com-","paragraph_id":"para_791"},{"text":"merce Clause claim survives against Gavagni.","paragraph_id":"para_792"},{"text":"IV. CONCLUSION","paragraph_id":"para_793"},{"text":"Hernandez and Drwencke are barred by sovereign immun-","paragraph_id":"para_794"},{"text":"ity from suing the board. And their dormant Commerce Clause","paragraph_id":"para_795"},{"text":"claim against Gavagni fails on its merits. 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