BD. of County Comm'rs v. Umbehr (518 U.S. 668)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 28, 1996 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 518 U.S. 668 · 116 S. Ct. 2342
- Decided
- June 28, 1996
- Term
- October Term 1995
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority author
- Justice O'Connor
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice O’Connor delivered the opinion of the Court. This case requires us to decide whether, and to what extent, the First Amendment protects independent contractors from the termination of' at-will government contracts in retaliation for their exercise of the freedom of speech. I Under state law, Wabaunsee County, Kansas (County), is obliged to provide for the disposal of solid waste generated within its borders. In 1981, and, after renegotiation, in 1985, the County contracted with respondent Umbehr for him to be the exclusive hauler of trash for cities in the County at a rate specified in the contract. Each city was free to reject or, on 90 days’ notice, to opt out of, the contract. By its terms, the contract between Umbehr and the County was automatically renewed annually unless either party terminated it by giving notice at least 60 days before the end of the year or a renegotiation was instituted on 90 days’ notice. Pursuant to the contract, Umbehr hauled trash for six of the County’s seven cities from 1985 to 1991 on an exclusive and uninterrupted basis. During the term of his contract, Umbehr was an outspoken critic of petitioner, the Board of County Commissioners of Wabaunsee County (Board), the three-member governing body of the County. Umbehr spoke at the Board’s meetings, and wrote critical letters and editorials in local newspapers regarding the County’s…
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