Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium, Inc., et al. v. Federal Communications Commission et al.

Decided June 28, 1996. Stephen Gerald Breyer delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 95-124 · 518 U.S. 727 (1996) · Cited 290 times

Holding

The First Amendment protects independent contractors from the termination or prevention of automatic renewal of at-will government contracts in retaliation for their exercise of the freedom of speech, and the Pickering balancing test, adjusted to weigh the government’s interests as contractor rather than as employer, determines the extent of that protection.

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

“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.

• Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 512 U.S. 622 (1994)
• Sable Communications of California, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 492 U.S. 115 (1989)
• Perry Education Ass'n v. Perry Local Educators' Ass'n · 460 U.S. 37 (1983)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation · 438 U.S. 726 (1978)
• Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo · 418 U.S. 241 (1974)
• Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. · 473 U.S. 788 (1985)
• Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. Federal Communications Commission · 395 U.S. 367 (1969)
• Cohen v. California · 403 U.S. 15 (1971)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Midwest Video Corp. · 440 U.S. 689 (1979)
• 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)
• Police Dept. of Chicago v. Mosley · 408 U.S. 92 (1972)
• Ginsberg v. New York · 390 U.S. 629 (1968)
• International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. v. Lee · 505 U.S. 672 (1992)
• Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Democratic National Committee · 412 U.S. 94 (1973)
• Lamont v. Postmaster General · 381 U.S. 301 (1965)
• City of Madison Joint School District No. 8 v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission · 429 U.S. 167 (1976)
• Miller v. California · 413 U.S. 15 (1973)
• Butler v. Michigan · 352 U.S. 380 (1957)
• City of Los Angeles v. Preferred Communications, Inc. · 476 U.S. 488 (1986)
• Haguer v. Committee for Industrial Organization · 307 U.S. 496 (1939)
• Widmar v. Vincent · 454 U.S. 263 (1981)
• Southeastern Promotions, Ltd. v. Conrad · 420 U.S. 546 (1975)
• Simon & Schuster, Inc. v. Members of the New York State Crime Victims Board · 502 U.S. 105 (1991)
• Federal Communications Commission v. League of Women Voters of California · 468 U.S. 364 (1984)
• United States v. O'Brien · 391 U.S. 367 (1968)
• Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 557 (1980)
• PruneYard Shopping Center v. Robins · 447 U.S. 74 (1980)
• Leathers v. Medlock · 499 U.S. 439 (1991)
• Ward v. Rock Against Racism · 491 U.S. 781 (1989)

Cited by

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

• Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck · 587 U.S. 802 (2019)
• United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc. · 529 U.S. 803 (2000)
• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission · 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. · 556 U.S. 502 (2009)
• Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union · 521 U.S. 844 (1997)
• United States v. American Library Assn., Inc. · 539 U.S. 194 (2003)
• Iancu v. Brunetti · 588 U.S. 388 (2019)
• National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley · 524 U.S. 569 (1998)
• Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union · 542 U.S. 656 (2004)
• Legal Services Corp. v. Velazquez · 531 U.S. 533 (2001)
• Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Paxton · 606 U.S. 461 (2025)
• United States v. Booker · 543 U.S. 220 (2005)
• National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius · 567 U.S. 519 (2012)
• Arkansas Educational Television Commission v. Forbes · 523 U.S. 666 (1998)
• Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC · 528 U.S. 377 (2000)
• Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Assn. · 584 U.S. 453 (2018)
• National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra · 585 U.S. 755 (2018)
• Ysursa v. Pocatello Education Ass'n · 555 U.S. 353 (2009)
• Moody v. NetChoice, LLC · 603 U.S. 707 (2024)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1996). 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).