Wabaunsee County Board of County Commissioners Kansas v. Umbehr

Petitioner

Board of County Commissioners, Wabaunsee County, Kansas

Respondent

Keen A. Umbehr

Petitioner's Claim

Termination of his contract to perform services for the county after he criticized the conduct of county government officials violated his First Amendment free speech right.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner

Donald Patterson

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

Robert A. Van Kirk

Justices for the Court

Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony M. Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor (writing for the Court), William H. Rehnquist, David H. Souter, John Paul Stevens

Justices Dissenting

Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

28 June 1996

Decision

The Court agreed that the petitioner's rights had been violated.

Related Cases

• Pickering v. Board of Education, 391 U.S. 563 (1968).
• Rutan v. Republican Party, 497 U.S. 62 (1990).
• Waters v. Churchill, 511 U.S. 661 (1994).
• O'Hare Truck Service, Inc. v. City of Northlake, 518 U.S. 712 (1996).