Connick v. Myers
E666869
Connick v. Myers is a 1983 U.S. Supreme Court case that limited public employees’ First Amendment protections by holding that their speech is only constitutionally protected when it addresses matters of public concern rather than personal workplace grievances.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States Supreme Court case
ⓘ
public employment law case ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
civil rights law
ⓘ
constitutional law ⓘ labor and employment law ⓘ |
| arguedDate | 1982-11-08 ⓘ |
| citation | 461 U.S. 138 ⓘ |
| constitutionalProvision | First Amendment to the United States Constitution NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1983-04-20 ⓘ |
| dissentingOpinionBy | William J. Brennan Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| fullName | Connick v. Myers NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| holding |
A public employee's speech is protected by the First Amendment only when it addresses a matter of public concern.
ⓘ
The employer's interest in maintaining discipline and harmony in the workplace outweighed the employee's limited First Amendment interest. ⓘ The questionnaire distributed by Myers, except for one question, involved internal office affairs and not matters of public concern. ⓘ When a public employee speaks on matters of purely personal interest, a federal court is not the appropriate forum to review the wisdom of a personnel decision taken in response. ⓘ |
| impact |
established threshold inquiry into whether employee speech involves a matter of public concern
ⓘ
narrowed First Amendment protections for public employees ⓘ |
| joinedDissent |
Harry A. Blackmun
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
John Paul Stevens NERFINISHED ⓘ Thurgood Marshall NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| joinedMajority |
Lewis F. Powell Jr.
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Sandra Day O'Connor NERFINISHED ⓘ Thurgood Marshall (in part) NERFINISHED ⓘ Warren E. Burger NERFINISHED ⓘ William H. Rehnquist NERFINISHED ⓘ William J. Brennan Jr. (in part) NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | federal question jurisdiction ⓘ |
| keyConcept |
distinction between public concern and personal grievance
ⓘ
government employer's interest in workplace efficiency ⓘ public concern requirement for public employee speech ⓘ |
| legalIssue |
freedom of speech of public employees
ⓘ
public concern test for employee speech ⓘ |
| locationOfUnderlyingDispute | Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office, Louisiana NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| majorityOpinionBy | Byron R. White NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| originatedFrom | United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| page | 138 ⓘ |
| petitioner | Harry F. Connick, District Attorney NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedCase |
Garcetti v. Ceballos
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Pickering v. Board of Education NERFINISHED ⓘ Rankin v. McPherson NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedDoctrine | Pickering balancing test NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| reporter | United States Reports ⓘ |
| respondent | Sheila Myers NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| reversed | United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| volume | 461 ⓘ |
| yearDecided | 1983 ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.