Houston Community College System v. Wilson
Decided March 24, 2022. Neil M. Gorsuch delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 20-804 · 595 U.S. 468 (2022) · Cited 60 times
Holding
Respondent Wilson does not possess an actionable First Amendment claim arising from his purely verbal censure by the Board of Trustees of the Houston Community College System.
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.
Majority · 9
- John G. Roberts, Jr.
- Clarence Thomas
- Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Elena Kagan
- Neil M. Gorsuch · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Brett M. Kavanaugh
- Amy Coney Barrett
- Stephen G. Breyer
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).
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.
- Powell v. McCormack · 395 U.S. 486 (1969)
- Bond v. Floyd · 385 U.S. 116 (1966)
- Hartman v. Moore · 547 U.S. 250 (2006)
- Thomas v. Collins · 323 U.S. 516 (1945)
- The Pocket Veto Case · 279 U.S. 655 (1929)
- Perry v. Sindermann · 408 U.S. 593 (1972)
- Near v. Minnesota Ex Rel. Olson · 283 U.S. 697 (1931)
- United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
- Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois · 497 U.S. 62 (1990)
- Genesis HealthCare Corp. v. Symczyk · 569 U.S. 66 (2013)
- Zauderer v. Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Ohio · 471 U.S. 626 (1985)
- Mills v. Alabama · 384 U.S. 214 (1966)
- Wood v. Georgia · 370 U.S. 375 (1962)
- Republican Party of Minnesota v. White · 536 U.S. 765 (2002)
- Ibanez v. Florida Dept. of Business and Professional Regulation, Bd. of Accountancy · 512 U.S. 136 (1994)
Official text
Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)
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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2022). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).