Branti v. Finkel, 445 U.S. 507 (1980), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that public defenders cannot be fired solely based on their political affiliation.

Branti v. Finkel
Decided March 31, 1980
Full case nameBranti v. Finkel
Citations445 U.S. 507 (more)
Holding
Public defenders cannot be fired solely based on their political affiliation.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart
Byron White · Thurgood Marshall
Harry Blackmun · Lewis F. Powell Jr.
William Rehnquist · John P. Stevens

Background

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The two petitioners, Republicans, were Assistant Public Defenders fired by a newly-elected county Public Defender affiliated with the Democrats.[1] The decision here was based in part on the fact that the county Public Defender was not a policy-making position entitled to such a distinction among its employees, but the Court extended this doctrine in Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois to protect government employees much more broadly.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Branti v. Finkel, 445 U.S. 507 (1980)
  2. ^ Epstein, Leon D. (1999). "Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois". In Hall, Kermit L. (ed.). The Oxford Guide to United States Supreme Court Decisions. p. 271.

See also

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