Gary Davenport, et al. v. Washington Education Association

Decided June 14, 2007. Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 05-1589 · 551 U.S. 177 (2007) · Cited 141 times

Holding

It does not violate the First Amendment for a State to require its public-sector unions to receive affirmative authorization from a nonmember before spending that nonmember’s agency fees for electionrelated purposes.

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.

• Abood v. Detroit Board of Education · 431 U.S. 209 (1977)
• Chicago Teachers Union, Local No. 1 v. Hudson · 475 U.S. 292 (1986)
• R. A. v. v. City of St. Paul · 505 U.S. 377 (1992)
• Boy Scouts of America v. Dale · 530 U.S. 640 (2000)
• International Ass'n of MacHinists v. Street · 367 U.S. 740 (1961)
• Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. · 473 U.S. 788 (1985)
• First Nat. Bank of Boston v. Bellotti · 435 U.S. 765 (1978)
• Regan v. Taxation With Representation of Washington · 461 U.S. 540 (1983)
• Austin v. Michigan State Chamber of Commerce · 494 U.S. 652 (1990)
• Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, Inc. · 547 U.S. 47 (2006)
• Village of Schaumburg v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 444 U.S. 620 (1980)
• Ellis v. Brotherhood of Railway, Airline & Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employes · 466 U.S. 435 (1984)
• Simon & Schuster, Inc. v. Members of the New York State Crime Victims Board · 502 U.S. 105 (1991)
• Virginia v. Hicks · 539 U.S. 113 (2003)
• Communications Workers of America v. Beck · 487 U.S. 735 (1988)
• Keller v. State Bar of California · 496 U.S. 1 (1990)
• Lincoln Federal Labor Union v. Northwestern Iron & Metal Co. · 335 U.S. 525 (1949)
• Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Assn. · 500 U.S. 507 (1991)
• National Collegiate Athletic Assn. v. Smith · 525 U.S. 459 (1999)

Cited by

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

• Matal v. Tam · 582 U.S. 218 (2017)
• Knox v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1000 · 567 U.S. 298 (2012)
• Reed v. Town of Gilbert · 576 U.S. 155 (2015)
• Ysursa v. Pocatello Education Ass'n · 555 U.S. 353 (2009)
• Vidal v. Elster · 602 U.S. 286 (2024)

Official text

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

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Antonin Scalia’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2007). 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).