Case Categories: Compelled Speech

The compelled speech doctrine sets out the principle that the government cannot force an individual or group to support certain expression. Thus, the First Amendment not only limits the government from punishing a person for his speech, it also prevents the government from punishing a person for refusing to articulate, advocate, or adhere to the government’s approved messages.

The Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943) is the classic example of the compelled speech doctrine at work.

In this case, the Court ruled that a state cannot force children to stand, salute the flag, and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The justices held that school children who are Jehovah’s Witnesses, for religious reasons, had a First Amendment right not to recite the Pledge of Allegiance or salute the U.S. flag.

In oft-cited language, Justice Robert H. Jackson asserted, “If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.”

Read more Supreme Court cases on compelled speech:

• Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1977)

  Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1977) said that requiring government employees to pay union dues that weren't used for political purposes did not violate...

• Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society (2013)

  Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society (2013) said barring funding for NGOs not explicitly opposed to certain policies violated the...

• Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society International, Inc. II (2020)

  The Supreme Court in 2020 ruled that First Amendment speech protections did not apply to foreign organizations in affirming a law barring AIDS funding to...

• Arkansas Times v. Waltrip (8th Circuit) (2022)

  The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2022 upheld an Arkansas law that requires contractors with the state to sign a pledge not to boycott Israel despite...

• Glickman v. Wileman Brothers and Elliott, Inc. (1997)

  In Glickman v. Wileman Brothers and Elliott, Inc., the Court held that requiring farmers to contribute to the cost of generic advertising did not abridge their...

• Harris v. Quinn (2014)

  In Harris v. Quinn (2014), the Supreme Court dealt with the First Amendment issues of requiring personal care workers in Illinois to join a union against their...

• Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31 (2018)

  The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that that an Illinois law allowing government employee unions to collect fees from non-members violates the First Amendment....

• Jarchow v. State Bar of Wisconsin (2020)

  The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a First Amendment challenge to a requirement that attorneys pay dues to a state bar association in Wisconsin to support...

• Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Association (2005)

  In Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Association (2005), the Court, using the government speech doctrine, rejected a First Amendment challenge to a compelled...

• Keller v. State Bar of California (1990)

  In Keller v. State Bar of California (1990), the Court upheld a state bar's use of compulsory membership fees if such fees were used to support "germane"...

• Knox v. Service Employees International Union (2012)

  In Knox v. Service Employees International Union (2012), the Court struck down a union’s imposition of special dues applied to nonunion members to oppose two...

• Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Association (1991)

  Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Association (1991) addressed First Amendment protections and the expenditure of contributions nonunion members are required to pay to...

• Locke v. Karass (2009)

  Locke v. Karass (2009) said that as long as union litigation was related to collective bargaining, charging nonmembers for national litigation did not violate...

• Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018)

  Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018) used the First Amendment to uphold the right of the store owner to refuse to custom design a...

• National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra (2018)

  National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra (2018) ruled that forcing pregnancy centers to tell patients about abortion services violated the...

• Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (2006)

  Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (2006) said that conditioning funding on allowing military recruiters on campus did not violate the...

• United States v. United Foods, Inc. (2001)

  In 2001, the Supreme Court overturned a federal program that required mushroom producers to subsidize generic advertising for mushrooms. In United States v....

• Wooley v. Maynard (1977)

  Wooley v. Maynard (1977) found that fining a man who covered up the state motto on his license plate for religious reasons violated the First Amendment...