O'hare Truck Service, Incorporated, et al. v. City of Northlake et al. (518 U.S. 712)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 28, 1996 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 518 U.S. 712 · 116 S. Ct. 2353
- Decided
- June 28, 1996
- Term
- October Term 1995
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority author
- Justice Kennedy
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court. Government officials may not discharge public employees for refusing to support a political party or its candidates, unless political affiliation is a reasonably appropriate requirement for the job in question. Elrod v. Burns, 427 U. S. 347 (1976); Branti v. Finkel, 445 U. S. 507 (1980). We must decide whether the protections of Elrod and Branti extend to an independent contractor, who, in retaliation for refusing to comply with demands for political support, has a government contract terminated or is removed from an official list of contractors authorized to perform public services. Although the government has broad discretion in formulating its contracting policies, we hold that the protections of Elrod and Branti extend to an instance like the one before us, where government retaliates against a contractor, or a regular provider of services, for the exercise of rights of political association or the expression of political allegiance. I The suit having been dismissed by the District Court for failure to state a claim, the complaint’s factual allegations are taken as true. Leatherman v. Tarrant County Narcotics Intelligence and Coordination Unit, 507 U. S. 163, 164 (1993). John Gratzianna is the owner and operator of O’Hare Truck Service, which provides towing services in Cook and DuPage Counties, Illinois. Gratzianna and…
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