Keyishian v. Board of Regents

Facts of the Case

Keyishian and other appellants were faculty members at the University of Buffalo (UB), a private institution, and they became state employees in 1962 when UB joined the SUNY system. In accordance with state law, they were required to sign the “Feinberg Certificate” declaring their loyalty to state and federal governments. Section 3022 (the Feinberg Law) of New York's Education Law required all faculty members to certify that they were not members of the Communist Party and that if they ever had been members, they had communicated that fact to the President of SUNY. Membership in the Communist Party was prima facie cause to deny or discontinue employment.

Keyishian refused to sign on principle, and his one-year contract was not renewed. The state also served notice that the unexpired contracts of his colleagues would not be extended. Keyishian filed suit, alleging violation of their constitutional rights to free speech and assembly. Subsequently, the federal district court declared the New York law constitutional and dismissed the complaint.

The Court's Ruling

On appeal, the Supreme Court focused on two questions. First, did Section 3022 of the New York Education Law violate the constitutional rights of faculty? Second, were the references to treasonable and seditious actions in Section 3021 and related civil service regulations vague and overbroad and, therefore, likely to infringe the free speech and academic freedom rights of faculty?

After considering the first question in terms of existing case law, the Court ruled that membership in a subversive organization was not sufficient cause to deny employment at a public college or university. [Page 487]Lacking evidence that the person plans to join in a group's illegal actions, denying them employment “infringes unnecessarily on constitutional rights and implies guilt by association which has no place [in a free society].” Consequently, the Court concluded that merely belonging to the Communist Party was not a constitutionally permissible ground for dismissal. After the Keyishian decision, public colleges and universities could not require faculty to sign loyalty oaths as a condition of employment.

Having rejected the constitutionality of Section 3022, the Supreme Court considered Section 3021 and related civil service regulations that mandated removal of faculty for “treasonable or seditious” acts. While commending New York's efforts to protect its educational system from subversion, the Court cautioned that constitutional rights could not be violated in the process. Indeed, the Court said, the greater the threat to schools and colleges,