Pickering v.

Board of Education (1968)

General Rule of Law: Statements by public employees made pursuant to their employment

have no First Amendment protection.

Procedure Summary:

Plaintiffs: Pickering (P), and other resident taxpayers and parents of children attending

public school in Will County, IL school district

Defendant: Board of Education (D), Township High School District 205, Will County, Illinois

State Trial Court Decision: Held for Board of Education (D)

State Court of Appeals Decision: Affirmed

Facts: Pickering, a teacher in the Township High School District 205, was dismissed after

writing a letter to a local newspaper criticizing how the Township board of Education and the

district superintendent had handled past proposals to raise revenue for the schools. The claim

that Pickering’s (P) letter was protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments was rejected by

the Board of Education (D). Pickering (P) appealed the action to the Circuit Court of Will

County and then to the Supreme Court of Illinois, which both affirmed dismissal. The Supreme

Court of the United States agreed that Pickering (P) First Amendment right to free speech were

violated and reversed the decision of the Illinois Supreme Court.

Issue: Was Pickering’s letter constitutionally-protected free speech?

Holding and Decision: (Memorandum Opinion) Yes. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the 8-1

majority holding that Pickering’s dismissal violated his First Amendment right to free speech.

There was no evidence that Pickering’s statements were knowingly false or reckless. Therefore,

similar speech is not protected if it contains false statements. Affirmed.

Comment: This case is important in that the First Amendment rights are protected as long as

information is not false or detrimental to the operation and administration of schools. The

statements provided in the letter did not interfere with the performance of teaching duties or the

school’s general operation. Pickering’s (P) letter, whether truthful or not, the State may not fire

the teacher for either unless there are special circumstances.

This Legal Brief is from the following resource:

Reference
Pickering v. Board of Education. (n.d.). Oyez. Retrieved February 25, 2018, from
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1967/510