NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A claim that Louisiana lawyers are unconstitutionally required to join and pay dues to the state bar association was rejected Monday by a federal judge.

New Orleans attorney Randy Boudreaux filed the lawsuit last year in U.S. District Court, claiming the mandatory Louisiana State Bar Association membership violates freedom of speech and freedom of association rights.

U.S. District Judge Lance Africk ruled that the Supreme Court has already upheld such arrangements.

Boudreaux’s lawsuit also claimed the bar association sometimes takes positions on issues that some attorneys disagree with. Examples cited in the lawsuit include past support for a moratorium on the death penalty and a resolution supporting the elimination of a “free enterprise” course requirement for high school students.

In dismissing that claim, Africk said it involves an issue that belongs in state, rather than federal court.