Parties: Connick v. Myers
Date: 1983-04-20
Identifiers:
Opinions:
Segment Sets:
Paragraph: 7 - For at least 15 years, it has been settled that a state cannot condition public employment on a basis that infringes the employee's constitutionally protected interest in freedom of expression.
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: in freedom of expression
Search time: 2017-10-13 13:47:37 Searcher: ars9ef Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 54 - It is beyond dispute that how and where a public employee expresses his views are relevant in the second half of the Pickering inquiry—determining whether the employee's speech adversely affects the government's interests as an employer. The Court explicitly acknowledged this in Givhan v. Western Line Consolidated School District, 439 U.S. 410, 99 S.Ct. 693, 58 L.Ed.2d 619 (1979), where we stated that when a public employee speaks privately to a supervisor, "the employing agency's institutional efficiency may be threatened not only by the content of the . . . message but also by the manner, time, and place in which it is delivered." Id., at 415, n. 4, 99 S.Ct., at 696, n. 4. But the fact that a public employee has chosen to express his views in private has nothing whatsoever to do with the first half of the Pickering calculus—whether those views relate to a matter of public concern. This conclusion is implicit in Givhan's holding that the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment is not "lost to the public employee who arranges to communicate privately with his employer rather than to spread his views before the public."
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: the freedom of speech guaranteed by
Search time: 2017-10-13 13:47:37 Searcher: ars9ef Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 57 - We have long recognized that one of the central purposes of the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of expression is to protect the dissemination of information on the basis of which members of our society may make reasoned decisions about the government.
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: of freedom of expression is to
Search time: 2017-10-13 13:47:37 Searcher: ars9ef Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 73 - At issue was whether public high school students could constitutionally be prohibited from wearing black armbands in school to express their opposition to the Vietnam conflict. The District Court had ruled that such a ban "was reasonable because it was based on [school officials'] fear of a disturbance from the wearing of armbands." Id., at 508, 89 S.Ct., at 737. We found that justification inadequate, because "in our system, undifferentiated fear or apprehension of a disturbance is not enough to overcome the right to freedom of expression."
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: to freedom of expression
Search time: 2017-10-13 13:47:37 Searcher: ars9ef Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 11 - The explanation for the Constitution's special concern with threats to the right of citizens to participate in political affairs is no mystery. The First Amendment N180* "was fashioned to assure unfettered interchange of ideas for the bringing about of political and social changes desired by the people." Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476, 484, 77 S.Ct. 1304, 1308, 1 L.Ed.2d 1498; New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 269, 84 S.Ct. 710, 720, 11 L.Ed.2d 686 (1964). "[S]peech concerning public affairs is more than self-expression; it is the essence of self-government." Garrison v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 64, 74-75, 85 S.Ct. 209, 215-216, 13 L.Ed.2d 125 (1964). Accordingly, the Court has frequently reaffirmed that speech on public issues occupies the "highest rung of the heirarchy of First Amendment values," and is entitled to special protection.
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: the right of citizens to participate
Search time: 2018-03-15 12:38:56 Searcher: clm6u Editor: ars9ef Segmenter: ars9ef
Paragraph: 60 - The constitutionally protected right to speak out on governmental affairs would be meaningless if it did not extend to statements expressing criticism of governmental officials.
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: protected right to speak out on
Search time: 2018-01-12 14:48:12 Searcher: ars9ef Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 63 - (describing N151* "[t]he importance of Government employees being assured of their right to freely comment on the conduct of Government, to inform the public of abuses of power and of the misconduct of their superiors . . .")
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: their right to freely comment on
Search time: 2018-01-12 14:48:12 Searcher: ars9ef Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 72 - Such extreme deference to the employer's judgment is not appropriate when public employees voice critical views concerning the operations of the agency for which they work. Although an employer's determination that an employee's statements have undermined essential working relationships must be carefully weighed in the Pickering balance, we must bear in mind that N152* "the threat of dismissal from public employment is . . . a potent means of inhibiting speech." Pickering, supra, at 574, 88 S.Ct., at 1737. See Keyishian v. Board of Regents, supra, 385 U.S., at 604, 87 S.Ct., at 684. If the employer's judgment is to be controlling, public employees will not speak out when what they have to say is critical of their supervisors. In order to protect public employees' First Amendment right to voice critical views on issues of public importance, the courts must make their own appraisal of the effects of the speech in question.
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: Amendment right to voice critical views
Search time: 2018-01-12 14:48:12 Searcher: ars9ef Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk
Paragraph: 73 - N153* At issue was whether public high school students could constitutionally be prohibited from wearing black armbands in school to express their opposition to the Vietnam conflict. The District Court had ruled that such a ban "was reasonable because it was based on [school officials'] fear of a disturbance from the wearing of armbands." Id., at 508, 89 S.Ct., at 737. We found that justification inadequate, because N154* "in our system, undifferentiated fear or apprehension of a disturbance is not enough to overcome the right to freedom of expression."
Notes:
Preferred Terms:
Phrase match: the right to freedom of expression
Search time: 2018-01-12 14:48:12 Searcher: ars9ef Editor: ars9ef tcs9pk Segmenter: ars9ef tcs9pk