Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri

E176641

Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri is a 2011 U.S. Supreme Court case that held public employees’ lawsuits and grievances are protected by the Petition Clause only when they address matters of public concern.

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Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf First Amendment case
U.S. constitutional law case
United States Supreme Court case
areaOfLaw Section 1983 actions
civil rights litigation
public employment law
arguedDate 2011-03-22
citation 564 U.S. 379
clauseInterpreted Petition Clause
surface form: Petition Clause of the First Amendment
concurrenceBy Antonin Scalia
surface form: Justice Antonin Scalia

Clarence Thomas
surface form: Justice Clarence Thomas
concurrenceInJudgmentBy Elena Kagan
surface form: Justice Elena Kagan
constitutionalProvisionInterpreted First Amendment to the United States Constitution
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 2011-06-20
docketNumber 09-1476
fullName Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri self-linksurface differs
surface form: Borough of Duryea, Pennsylvania v. Guarnieri
geographicalContext Borough of Duryea, Pennsylvania
holding Public employees’ lawsuits and formal grievances are protected by the Petition Clause only when they address matters of public concern.
The public concern test applies to public employees’ claims under the Petition Clause.
The same public concern requirement that limits public employee speech claims also limits Petition Clause claims.
joinedByInMajority John G. Roberts Jr.
surface form: Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.

Antonin Scalia
surface form: Justice Antonin Scalia

Clarence Thomas
surface form: Justice Clarence Thomas

Ruth Bader Ginsburg
surface form: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Samuel A. Alito Jr.
surface form: Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr.

Sonia Sotomayor
surface form: Justice Sonia Sotomayor

Stephen G. Breyer
surface form: Justice Stephen G. Breyer
jurisdictionBasis federal question jurisdiction
legalIssue scope of public employees’ protection under the Petition Clause
lowerCourtDisposition judgment for Guarnieri affirmed in part and vacated in part
majorityOpinionBy Anthony M. Kennedy
surface form: Justice Anthony M. Kennedy
originatingCourt United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
page 379
petitioner Borough of Duryea, Pennsylvania
relatedCase Connick v. Myers
Garcetti v. Ceballos
Pickering v. Board of Education
relatedDoctrine Pickering balancing test
public concern test
remedyIssue availability of damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for Petition Clause violations
reporter United States Reports
respondent Charles J. Guarnieri
subjectMatter retaliation against a police chief for filing grievances and a lawsuit
volume 564
voteMajority 8
voteMinority 1
yearDecided 2011

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Petition Clause citedInCase Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri
Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri fullName Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Borough of Duryea, Pennsylvania v. Guarnieri