James P. Lehnert et al. v. Ferris Faculty Association et al.

Decided May 30, 1991. Harry Andrew Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 89-1217 · 500 U.S. 507 (1991) · Cited 221 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

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.

• Ellis v. Brotherhood of Railway, Airline & Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employes · 466 U.S. 435 (1984)
• Abood v. Detroit Board of Education · 431 U.S. 209 (1977)
• International Ass'n of MacHinists v. Street · 367 U.S. 740 (1961)
• Railway Employes' Department v. Hanson · 351 U.S. 225 (1956)
• Wooley v. Maynard · 430 U.S. 705 (1977)
• Communications Workers of America v. Beck · 487 U.S. 735 (1988)
• Brotherhood of Railway & Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express & Station Employes v. Allen · 373 U.S. 113 (1963)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Chicago Teachers Union, Local No. 1 v. Hudson · 475 U.S. 292 (1986)
• Keller v. State Bar of California · 496 U.S. 1 (1990)
• Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. · 477 U.S. 242 (1986)
• Anderson v. City of Bessemer City · 470 U.S. 564 (1985)
• Elrod v. Burns · 427 U.S. 347 (1976)
• Roth v. United States · 354 U.S. 476 (1957)
• United States v. Hasting · 461 U.S. 499 (1983)
• Winters v. New York · 333 U.S. 507 (1948)
• United States v. Lee · 455 U.S. 252 (1982)
• Mills v. Alabama · 384 U.S. 214 (1966)
• Torcaso v. Watkins · 367 U.S. 488 (1961)

Cited by

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

• Glickman v. Wileman Brothers & Elliott, Inc. · 521 U.S. 457 (1997)
• Janus v. State, County, and Municipal Employees · 585 U.S. 878 (2018)
• Knox v. Service Employees International Union, Local 1000 · 567 U.S. 298 (2012)
• Air Line Pilots Ass'n v. Miller · 523 U.S. 866 (1998)
• Davenport v. Washington Education Ass'n · 551 U.S. 177 (2007)
• Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System v. Southworth · 529 U.S. 217 (2000)
• Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization · 597 U.S. 215 (2022)

Official text

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

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).