Ben Ysursa, Idaho Secretary of State, et al. v. Pocatello Education Association et al.

Decided February 24, 2009. John Glover Roberts Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 07-869 · 555 U.S. 353 (2009) · Cited 177 times

Holding

Idaho’s ban on political payroll deductions, as applied to local governmental units, does not infringe the unions’ First Amendment rights.

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.

• Davenport v. Washington Education Ass'n · 551 U.S. 177 (2007)
• Regan v. Taxation With Representation of Washington · 461 U.S. 540 (1983)
• Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. · 473 U.S. 788 (1985)
• Consolidated Edison Co. of New York v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 530 (1980)
• Reynolds v. Sims · 377 U.S. 533 (1964)
• United States Civil Service Commission v. National Ass'n of Letter Carriers · 413 U.S. 548 (1973)
• Board of Trustees of State Univ. of NY v. Fox · 492 U.S. 469 (1989)
• Jerome B. Grubart, Inc. v. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. · 513 U.S. 527 (1995)
• City of Trenton v. New Jersey · 262 U.S. 182 (1923)
• United States v. American Library Assn., Inc. · 539 U.S. 194 (2003)
• Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle · 429 U.S. 274 (1977)
• Pickering v. Board of Ed. of Township High School Dist. 205, Will Cty. · 391 U.S. 563 (1968)
• Perry Education Ass'n v. Perry Local Educators' Ass'n · 460 U.S. 37 (1983)
• R. A. v. v. City of St. Paul · 505 U.S. 377 (1992)
• Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of University of Virginia · 515 U.S. 819 (1995)
• Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 512 U.S. 622 (1994)
• First Nat. Bank of Boston v. Bellotti · 435 U.S. 765 (1978)
• United Public Workers of America v. Mitchell · 330 U.S. 75 (1947)
• Burdick v. Takushi · 504 U.S. 428 (1992)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc. · 529 U.S. 803 (2000)
• McMillian v. Monroe County · 520 U.S. 781 (1997)
• Greer v. Spock · 424 U.S. 828 (1976)
• Lehman v. City of Shaker Heights · 418 U.S. 298 (1974)
• National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley · 524 U.S. 569 (1998)
• Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC · 528 U.S. 377 (2000)
• Williams v. Mayor of Baltimore · 289 U.S. 36 (1933)
• Smith v. Arkansas State Highway Employees, Local 1315 · 441 U.S. 463 (1979)
• Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 518 U.S. 727 (1996)
• Thompson v. Western States Medical Center · 535 U.S. 357 (2002)

Cited by

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

• Matal v. Tam · 582 U.S. 218 (2017)
• Iancu v. Brunetti · 588 U.S. 388 (2019)
• Vidal v. Elster · 602 U.S. 286 (2024)

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 (2009). 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).