Back More
Salem Press

Table of Contents

The Bill of Rights, 2nd Edition

Keyishian v. Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York

by Thomas Tandy Lewis

Citation: 385 U.S. 589

Announced: January 23, 1967

Issues: Antigovernment subversion; Loyalty oaths

Relevant Amendments: First, Fourteenth

Brief Summary: The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a state law prohibiting membership in seditious groups because the law was overbroad and too vague. The decision also invalidated a requirement that teachers and employees sign an oath that they were not member of the Communist Party or another subversive organization.

In 1947, President Harry Truman issued Executive Order 9835, which established a loyalty program designed to root out communist influence and subversion from the U.S. government. This encouraged New York State to enact the “Feinberg Law,” which provided for dismissal of any teachers belonging to “subversive organizations.” A number of teachers were fired for refusing to say whether they belonged to such organizations. Irving Adler and others fired fired a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Feinberg Law. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Adler and associates in Adler v. Board of Education of the City of New York (1952), finding that public employment was a privilege and not a right.

Several years later, Harry Keyishian and other employees of the State University of New York system refused to sign a statement saying that they were not Communist and had never belonged to the Communist Party. Subject to dismissal and/or non-renewal of contract, they sued for declaratory and injunctive relief, arguing that the statutes and regulations violated their rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments. A three-judge court of appeals rejected the plaintiffs’ arguments.

In Keyishian v. Board Regents, the U.S. Supreme Court held 5-4 that the provisions in the New York loyalty program were defined in such vague and uncertain terms that they infringed on the constitutional rights of public employees, particularly teachers. In the majority opinion, Justice William Brennan argued that the country had an interest in protecting the First Amendment right of teachers so that the educational system might be as free and open as possible. The government could only place limits on free speech with “narrow specificity.” Brennan further explained that the state’s regulations were overly broad because they prohibited membership in an organization without determination about whether an individual had any intent to overthrow the government. The ruling drew a diction between ideas and behavior. Brennan would have accepted the validity of an oath not to advocate or engage in illegal actions.

In a dissent, Justice Tom C. Clark argued that the duties of a public servant permitted the government to inquire into his or her fitness to serve in a particular position. In addition, he found that the references to actions that “advocate, advise, or teach” the overthrow of the U.S. government were not unconstitutionally vague.

The Keyishian holding largely reversed the Adler decision of 1952. Irving Adler and other teachers fired in the 1950s sued for reinstatement of employment. Adler’s professorship and pension right were restored. The Supreme Court has never rejected all loyalty oaths. U.S. Code, Title 5, Part III, that individuals, except the president, who are elected or appointed to an office in the civil service or military service must take an oath “to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies” and “to faithfully discharge the duties of the office.”

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Lewis, Thomas Tandy. "Keyishian V. Board Of Regents Of The University Of The State Of New York." The Bill of Rights, 2nd Edition, edited by Thomas Tandy Lewis, Salem Press, 2017. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=BOR2e_0339.
APA 7th
Lewis, T. T. (2017). Keyishian v. Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York. In T. T. Lewis (Ed.), The Bill of Rights, 2nd Edition. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Lewis, Thomas Tandy. "Keyishian V. Board Of Regents Of The University Of The State Of New York." Edited by Thomas Tandy Lewis. The Bill of Rights, 2nd Edition. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2017. Accessed December 14, 2025. online.salempress.com.