Gil Garcetti, et al. v. Richard Ceballos

Decided May 30, 2006. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 04-473 · 547 U.S. 410 (2006) · Cited 2,871 times

Holding

When public employees make statements pursuant to their official duties, they are not speaking as citizens for First Amendment purposes, and the Constitution does not insulate their communications from employer discipline.

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 5–4.

“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.

• Pickering v. Board of Ed. of Township High School Dist. 205, Will Cty. · 391 U.S. 563 (1968)
• Connick Ex Rel. Parish of Orleans v. Myers · 461 U.S. 138 (1983)
• Rust v. Sullivan · 500 U.S. 173 (1991)
• Givhan v. Western Line Consolidated School District · 439 U.S. 410 (1979)
• Brady v. Maryland · 373 U.S. 83 (1963)
• Rosenberger v. Rector & Visitors of University of Virginia · 515 U.S. 819 (1995)
• Rankin v. McPherson · 483 U.S. 378 (1987)
• City of San Diego v. Roe · 543 U.S. 77 (2004)
• Waters v. Churchill · 511 U.S. 661 (1994)
• United States v. National Treasury Employees Union · 513 U.S. 454 (1995)
• City of Madison Joint School District No. 8 v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission · 429 U.S. 167 (1976)
• Legal Services Corp. v. Velazquez · 531 U.S. 533 (2001)
• Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. · 477 U.S. 242 (1986)
• Farmer v. Brennan · 511 U.S. 825 (1994)
• Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics · 403 U.S. 388 (1971)
• Kyles v. Whitley · 514 U.S. 419 (1995)
• Perry v. Sindermann · 408 U.S. 593 (1972)
• Polk County v. Dodson · 454 U.S. 312 (1981)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)
• Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 557 (1980)
• Shelton v. Tucker · 364 U.S. 479 (1960)
• Keyishian v. Board of Regents of Univ. of State of NY · 385 U.S. 589 (1967)
• Livadas v. Bradshaw · 512 U.S. 107 (1994)
• Pegram v. Herdrich · 530 U.S. 211 (2000)
• Sweezy v. New Hampshire Ex Rel. Wyman · 354 U.S. 234 (1957)
• Burson v. Freeman · 504 U.S. 191 (1992)
• Board of Comm'rs, Wabaunsee Cty. v. Umbehr · 518 U.S. 668 (1996)
• Grutter v. Bollinger · 539 U.S. 306 (2003)
• City of Rancho Palos Verdes v. Abrams · 544 U.S. 113 (2005)
• Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network of Western NY · 519 U.S. 357 (1997)

Cited by

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

• Kennedy v. Bremerton School Dist. · 597 U.S. 507 (2022)
• Janus v. State, County, and Municipal Employees · 585 U.S. 878 (2018)
• Heffernan v. City of Paterson · 578 U.S. 266 (2016)
• Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri · 564 U.S. 379 (2011)
• Engquist v. Oregon Department of Agriculture · 553 U.S. 591 (2008)
• Pleasant Grove City v. Summum · 555 U.S. 460 (2009)
• Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. · 551 U.S. 587 (2007)
• Fulton v. Philadelphia · 593 U.S. 522 (2021)
• Lindke v. Freed · 601 U.S. 187 (2024)
• Shurtleff v. Boston · 596 U.S. 243 (2022)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2006). 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).