Case Categories: Loyalty Oaths

• Baggett v. Bullitt (1964)

  Baggett v. Bullitt (1964) struck down a state law that mandated loyalty oaths for state employees, thereby interfering with their First Amendment rights of...

• Beilan v. Board of Education (1958)

  Beilan v. Board of Education (1958) glossed over First Amendment concerns and upheld a teacher's dismissal for refusing to answer questions about membership in...

• Cole v. Richardson (1972)

  Cole v. Richardson (1972) upheld a loyalty oath required for state employees against a First Amendment challenge. The Court did not think the oath was too vague...

• Communist Party of Indiana v. Whitcomb (1974)

  Communist Party of Indiana v. Whitcomb (1974) overturned a law requiring a loyalty oath for party ballot access. The law violated the First Amendment right of...

• Connell v. Higginbotham (1971)

  Connell v. Higginbotham (1971) used the First Amendment to strike down a loyalty oath that required teachers to affirm they did not believe in the violent...

• Cramp v. Board of Public Instruction of Orange County (1961)

  Cramp v. Board of Public Instruction of Orange County (1961) struck down a state loyalty oath law for being vague and possibly infringing upon First Amendment...

• Elfbrandt v. Russell (1966)

  Elfbrandt v. Russell (1966) said an Arizona statute requiring state employees to sign a loyalty oath infringed on First Amendment freedom of political...

• Garner v. Board of Public Works of Los Angeles (1951)

  In Garner v. Board of Public Works of Los Angeles, the court upheld the constitutionality of loyalty oaths examining subversive associations of employees...

• Gibson v. Florida Legislative Investigation Committee (1963)

  In Gibson v. Florida Legislative Investigation Committee, the court held that the state must show compelling interest to intrude on First Amendment rights...

• Nostrand v. Little (1960)

  Nostrand v. Little (1960) looked at a state law that required public employees to take loyalty oaths. The Court dismissed the First Amendment questions raised...

• Speiser v. Randall (1958)

  In Speiser v. Randall (1958), the Supreme Court ruled that the state cannot condition the receipt of a tax exemption on a loyalty oath to not overthrow the...

• Whitehill v. Elkins (1967)

  Whitehill v. Elkins (1967) struck down a loyalty oath requirement at a university after a teacher who had been offered a job challenged it on First Amendment...

• Wieman v. Updegraff (1952)

  In Wieman v. Updegraff (1952), the Court said a loyalty oath requirement for Oklahoma state employees violated the First Amendment freedoms of speech and...