Borough of Duryea, Pennsylvania, et al., Petitioners v. Charles J Guarnieri

Decided June 20, 2011. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 09-1476 · 564 U.S. 379 (2011) · Cited 470 times

Holding

A government employer’s allegedly retaliatory actions against an employee do not give rise to liability under the Petition Clause unless the employee’s petition relates to a matter of public concern.

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 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.

• Connick Ex Rel. Parish of Orleans v. Myers · 461 U.S. 138 (1983)
• Garcetti v. Ceballos · 547 U.S. 410 (2006)
• Pickering v. Board of Ed. of Township High School Dist. 205, Will Cty. · 391 U.S. 563 (1968)
• Engquist v. Oregon Department of Agriculture · 553 U.S. 591 (2008)
• California Motor Transport Co. v. Trucking Unlimited · 404 U.S. 508 (1972)
• Thomas v. Collins · 323 U.S. 516 (1945)
• City of San Diego v. Roe · 543 U.S. 77 (2004)
• McDonald v. Smith · 472 U.S. 479 (1985)
• BE&K Construction Co. v. National Labor Relations Board · 536 U.S. 516 (2002)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Bill Johnson's Restaurants, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board · 461 U.S. 731 (1983)
• United States v. National Treasury Employees Union · 513 U.S. 454 (1995)
• Sure-Tan, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board · 467 U.S. 883 (1984)
• Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen v. Virginia Ex Rel. Virginia State Bar · 377 U.S. 1 (1964)
• District of Columbia v. Heller · 554 U.S. 570 (2008)
• Boddie v. Connecticut · 401 U.S. 371 (1971)
• Christiansburg Garment Co. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission · 434 U.S. 412 (1978)
• Eastern Railroad Presidents Conference v. Noerr Motor Freight, Inc. · 365 U.S. 127 (1961)
• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission · 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
• Wayte v. United States · 470 U.S. 598 (1985)
• Keyishian v. Board of Regents of Univ. of State of NY · 385 U.S. 589 (1967)
• Johnson v. Avery · 393 U.S. 483 (1969)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• O'CONNOR v. Ortega · 480 U.S. 709 (1987)
• Waters v. Churchill · 511 U.S. 661 (1994)
• Professional Real Estate Investors, Inc. v. Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. · 508 U.S. 49 (1993)
• M. L. B. v. S. L. J. · 519 U.S. 102 (1996)
• Snyder v. Phelps · 562 U.S. 443 (2011)
• Ex Parte Hull · 312 U.S. 546 (1941)
• United Mine Workers v. Illinois State Bar Ass'n · 389 U.S. 217 (1967)

Cited by

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

• Janus v. State, County, and Municipal Employees · 585 U.S. 878 (2018)
• Kennedy v. Bremerton School Dist. · 597 U.S. 507 (2022)

Official text

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

Explore from here

Anthony McLeod Kennedy’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2011). 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).