Abood et al. v. Detroit Board of Education et al.

Decided May 23, 1977. Potter Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 75-1153 · 431 U.S. 209 (1977) · Cited 1,173 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Railway Employes' Department v. Hanson · 351 U.S. 225 (1956)
• International Ass'n of MacHinists v. Street · 367 U.S. 740 (1961)
• Elrod v. Burns · 427 U.S. 347 (1976)
• Brotherhood of Railway & Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employes v. Allen · 373 U.S. 113 (1963)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Lathrop v. Donohue · 367 U.S. 820 (1961)
• Pickering v. Board of Ed. of Township High School Dist. 205, Will Cty. · 391 U.S. 563 (1968)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama Ex Rel. Patterson · 357 U.S. 449 (1958)
• City of Madison Joint School District No. 8 v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission · 429 U.S. 167 (1976)
• National Labor Relations Board v. General Motors Corp. · 373 U.S. 734 (1963)
• Emporium Capwell Co. v. Western Addition Community Organization · 420 U.S. 50 (1975)
• Vaca v. Sipes · 386 U.S. 171 (1967)
• Jackson v. Metropolitan Edison Co. · 419 U.S. 345 (1974)
• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette · 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
• Police Dept. of Chicago v. Mosley · 408 U.S. 92 (1972)
• Young v. American Mini Theatres, Inc. · 427 U.S. 50 (1976)
• United States Civil Service Commission v. National Ass'n of Letter Carriers · 413 U.S. 548 (1973)
• Steele v. Louisville & Nashville Railroad · 323 U.S. 192 (1944)
• Winters v. New York · 333 U.S. 507 (1948)
• Ford Motor Co. v. Huffman · 345 U.S. 330 (1953)
• Mills v. Alabama · 384 U.S. 214 (1966)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. · 388 U.S. 175 (1967)
• Retail Clerks International Ass'n, Local 1625 v. Schermerhorn · 373 U.S. 746 (1963)
• New York Times Co. v. Sullivan · 376 U.S. 254 (1964)
• Perry v. Sindermann · 408 U.S. 593 (1972)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)
• Cantwell v. Connecticut · 310 U.S. 296 (1940)
• Roth v. United States · 354 U.S. 476 (1957)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Thornhill v. Alabama · 310 U.S. 88 (1940)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Glickman v. Wileman Brothers & Elliott, Inc. · 521 U.S. 457 (1997)
• Janus v. State, County, and Municipal Employees · 585 U.S. 878 (2018)
• Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Assn. · 500 U.S. 507 (1991)
• Chicago Teachers Union, Local No. 1 v. Hudson · 475 U.S. 292 (1986)
• Minnesota State Board for Community Colleges v. Knight · 465 U.S. 271 (1984)
• United States v. United Foods, Inc. · 533 U.S. 405 (2001)
• Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System v. Southworth · 529 U.S. 217 (2000)
• Keller v. State Bar of California · 496 U.S. 1 (1990)
• Davenport v. Washington Education Ass'n · 551 U.S. 177 (2007)
• First Nat. Bank of Boston v. Bellotti · 435 U.S. 765 (1978)
• Air Line Pilots Ass'n v. Miller · 523 U.S. 866 (1998)
• Ellis v. Brotherhood of Railway, Airline & Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employes · 466 U.S. 435 (1984)
• Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Assn. · 544 U.S. 550 (2005)
• Knox v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1000 · 567 U.S. 298 (2012)
• PruneYard Shopping Center v. Robins · 447 U.S. 74 (1980)
• Austin v. Michigan State Chamber of Commerce · 494 U.S. 652 (1990)
• Lyng v. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, & Agricultural Implement Workers · 485 U.S. 360 (1988)
• Consolidated Edison Co. of New York v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 530 (1980)
• Perry Education Ass'n v. Perry Local Educators' Ass'n · 460 U.S. 37 (1983)
• Roberts v. United States Jaycees · 468 U.S. 609 (1984)
• Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of University of Virginia · 515 U.S. 819 (1995)
• Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc. · 472 U.S. 749 (1985)
• Matal v. Tam · 582 U.S. 218 (2017)
• Rust v. Sullivan · 500 U.S. 173 (1991)
• Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. Public Utilities Commission · 475 U.S. 1 (1986)
• Members of the City Council of Los Angeles v. Taxpayers for Vincent · 466 U.S. 789 (1984)
• Nixon v. Administrator of General Services · 433 U.S. 425 (1977)
• Lee v. Weisman · 505 U.S. 577 (1992)
• Riley v. National Federation of Blind of North Carolina, Inc. · 487 U.S. 781 (1988)
• Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education · 476 U.S. 267 (1986)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).