Home > Great American Court Cases > Board of County Commissioners, Wabaunsee County, Kansas v. Umbehr

Legal Citation: 518 U.S. 668 (1996)

Petitioner
Board of County Commissioners, Wabaunsee County, Kansas

Respondent
Keen A. Umbehr

Petitioner's Claim
Termination of his contract to perform services for the county after he criticized the conduct of county government officials violated his First Amendment free speech right.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner
Donald Patterson

Chief Lawyer for Respondent
Robert A. Van Kirk

Justices for the Court
Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony M. Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor (writing for the Court), William H. Rehnquist, David H. Souter, John Paul Stevens

Justices Dissenting
Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
28 June 1996

Decision
The Court agreed that the petitioner's rights had been...