Anup Engquist v. Oregon Department of Agriculture, et al

Decided June 9, 2008. John Glover Roberts Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 07-474 · 553 U.S. 591 (2008) · Cited 1,599 times

Holding

The class-of-one theory of equal protection does not apply in the public employment context.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–3.

“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.

• Connick Ex Rel. Parish of Orleans v. Myers · 461 U.S. 138 (1983)
• Village of Willowbrook v. Olech · 528 U.S. 562 (2000)
• Bishop v. Wood · 426 U.S. 341 (1976)
• Waters v. Churchill · 511 U.S. 661 (1994)
• Allegheny Pittsburgh Coal Co. v. Commission of Webster Cty. · 488 U.S. 336 (1989)
• Garcetti v. Ceballos · 547 U.S. 410 (2006)
• O'CONNOR v. Ortega · 480 U.S. 709 (1987)
• Sioux City Bridge Co. v. Dakota County · 260 U.S. 441 (1923)
• Cafeteria & Restaurant Workers Union, Local 473 v. McElroy · 367 U.S. 886 (1961)
• Massachusetts Board of Retirement v. Murgia · 427 U.S. 307 (1976)
• Harrah Independent School District v. Martin · 440 U.S. 194 (1979)
• Ex Parte Curtis · 106 U.S. 371 (1882)
• Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth · 408 U.S. 564 (1972)
• Pickering v. Board of Ed. of Township High School Dist. 205, Will Cty. · 391 U.S. 563 (1968)
• Perry v. Sindermann · 408 U.S. 593 (1972)
• Elrod v. Burns · 427 U.S. 347 (1976)
• San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 1 (1973)
• McGowan v. Maryland · 366 U.S. 420 (1961)
• Collins v. City of Harker Heights · 503 U.S. 115 (1992)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Beach Communications, Inc. · 508 U.S. 307 (1993)
• Personnel Administrator of Mass. v. Feeney · 442 U.S. 256 (1979)
• Keyishian v. Board of Regents of Univ. of State of NY · 385 U.S. 589 (1967)
• Ross v. Moffitt · 417 U.S. 600 (1974)
• Bush v. Lucas · 462 U.S. 367 (1983)
• Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena · 515 U.S. 200 (1995)
• Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois · 497 U.S. 62 (1990)
• New York City Transit Authority v. Beazer · 440 U.S. 568 (1979)
• Andrews v. Louisville & Nashville Railroad · 406 U.S. 320 (1972)
• United Mine Workers v. Illinois State Bar Ass'n · 389 U.S. 217 (1967)
• Hayes v. Missouri · 120 U.S. 68 (1887)

Cited by

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

• Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri · 564 U.S. 379 (2011)
• Janus v. State, County, and Municipal Employees · 585 U.S. 878 (2018)
• Kennedy v. Bremerton School Dist. · 597 U.S. 507 (2022)
• District of Columbia v. Heller · 554 U.S. 570 (2008)
• Fulton v. Philadelphia · 593 U.S. 522 (2021)

Official text

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

Explore from here

John Glover Roberts Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2008). 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).