''Keyishian v. Board of Regents'', 385 U.S. 589 (1967), was a
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
case in which the Court held that states cannot prohibit employees from being members of the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...
and that this law was overbroad and too vague.
Background
New York State
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. sta ...
had laws that prohibited state employees from belonging to any organization that advocated the overthrow of the US government or was "treasonous" or "seditious." The regents of the
State University of New York
The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by ...
also required teachers and employees to sign an oath that they were not members of the Communist Party.
Some faculty and staff of the University were terminated for refusing to sign the oath and appealed to the Supreme Court.
Decision
The Supreme Court, in a 5–4 decision, overturned the New York state laws prohibiting membership in seditious groups because it was too vague and was overbroad. That largely reversed the 1952 decision in ''Adler v. Board of Education'', in which
Irving Adler
Irving Adler (April 27, 1913 – September 22, 2012) was an American author, mathematician, scientist, political activist, and educator. He was the author of 57 books (some under the pen name Robert Irving) about mathematics, science, and ...
had been dismissed for the New York City public school system because of a previous connection with the
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Rev ...
.
See also
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List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 385
This is a list of all the United States Supreme Court cases from volume 385 of the ''United States Reports
The ''United States Reports'' () are the official record ( law reports) of the Supreme Court of the United States. They include rulings, ...
References
External links
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Heins, Marjorie. (2012, January 23). "The Keyishian Ruling: 45 Years Later,"Academe Blog
Wilson, John K. (2012, January 23). "Interview with Harry Keyishian,"Academe Blog
{{US1stAmendment, speech, state=collapsed
1967 in United States case law
American Civil Liberties Union litigation
United States Free Speech Clause case law
United States Supreme Court cases
State University of New York
Anti-communism in the United States
Communist Party USA litigation
United States lawsuits
United States Supreme Court cases of the Warren Court