Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois
Significance, State Workers Challenge The System, Another Blow To Patronage
Petitioner
Cynthia Rutan, et al.
Respondent
Republican Party of Illinois, et al.
Petitioner's Claim
That the Republican governor of Illinois violated their First Amendment freedom of association by requiring they support the Republican Party to receive state jobs, transfers, recalls, or promotions.
Chief Lawyer for Petitioner
Mary Lee Leahy
Chief Lawyer for Respondent
Thomas P. Sullivan
Justices for the Court
Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr. (writing for the Court), Thurgood Marshall, John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White
Justices Dissenting
Anthony M. Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor, William H. Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia
Place
Washington, D.C.
Date of Decision
21 June 1990
Decision
The Court found for the petitioner, expanding the First Amendment protection against dismissal from low-level government positions based on party affiliation, which had been established in two earlier cases.
Related Cases
- West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943).
- Keyishian v. Board of Regents of University of New York, 385 U.S. 589 (1967).
- Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976).
- Elrod v. Burns, 427 U.S. 347 (1976).
- Branti v. Finkel, 445 U.S. 507 (1980).
- Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education, 476 U.S. 267 (1986).
Further Readings
- Desai, Uday, and John A. Hamman. "Images and Reality in Local Government Personnel Practices." Public Administration Review, July-August 1994, pp. 391.
- Roback, Thomas H., and Janet C. Vinzant. "The Consitution and the Patronage-merit Debate." Public Personnel Management, fall 1994, pp. 501.
- Vinazant, Janet C., and Thomas H. Roback, "Dilemmas of Legitimacy." Administration & Society, February 1994, pp. 443.
Additional topics
- Shaw v. Reno - Case Background, When Has A State Gone Too Far?, Dissension, Impact, Related Cases
- Rust v. Sullivan - Significance, Supreme Court Rejects Challenges To The "gag Rule" On Federally Funded Family Planning Clinics
- Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois - Significance
- Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois - State Workers Challenge The System
- Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois - Another Blow To Patronage
- Other Free Encyclopedias
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