Keyishian v. Board of Regents

385 U.S. 589 (1967)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Keyishian v. Board of Regents

United States Supreme Court
385 U.S. 589 (1967)

Play video

Facts

New York adopted a plan to prevent the appointment or retention of subversive persons in civil employment, including in public-teaching positions. The plan was created under the Feinberg Law. The Education Code was amended so that treasonable or seditious words or acts were grounds for dismissal from public-school employment. The Civil Service Law was amended to add § 105, which stated that a person was disqualified from civil employment, including in public schools, if the person (1) advocated the overthrow of the government by force or unlawful means, (2) published or distributed material advocating overthrow, or (3) joined or organized a group advocating overthrow. Further, both the Feinberg Law and § 105 made membership in a subversive organization prima facie evidence of disqualification from public-school and civil employment. The state deemed the Communist Party a subversive organization. When the University of Buffalo, a private higher-education institution, merged with the State University of New York, a public institution, each faculty member’s continued employment was conditioned on signing a statement saying that they were not communists and had informed the president of the university if they had previously been communists. Keyishian and other faculty members (plaintiffs) refused to sign. They sued the university’s board of regents (defendant), arguing that the relevant statutes were unconstitutionally vague and that disqualifying a person from public employment based on mere membership in an organization violated the First Amendment. A district court panel upheld the laws, and the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Brennan, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 816,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 816,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 816,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership