Perry v. Sindermann

Facts of the Case

Robert Sindermann was employed as a nontenured faculty member in the Texas state college system from 1959 to 1969. During the last four years of his time there, Sindermann served as a professor of government and social science at Odessa Junior College (OJC) under consecutive one-year contracts. While Sindermann also served briefly as cochair of the social sciences department, officials at OJC dismissed him from that position, because he circulated lengthy letters to members of the department criticizing its actions. Moreover, Sindermann's being elected president of the Texas Junior College Teachers Association in February 1969 led to further controversy between him and the OJC administration. Serving in his capacity as president of the association, Sindermann was absent several times from his teaching duties, even though the administration denied his requests to testify in the state capitol before committees of the Texas legislature. In addition, Sindermann publicly supported the elevation of OJC to four-year status, a change that its board of regents opposed.

In May 1969, when the board of regents voted not to renew Sindermann's contract for the 1969-1970 academic year, it issued a press release citing his insubordination and the deterioration of their relationship. The board did not provide him with an official statement of the reasons for nonrenewal and did not give him an opportunity for a hearing in which to respond to the allegations. At the time, OJC had no formal tenure system that gave any faculty member the assurance of continued employment beyond the present year. However, a statement published in its Faculty Guide [Page 343]stipulated that while OJC did not have a tenure system, its administration wanted faculty members “to feel” that they had permanent tenure as long as their teaching was satisfactory, they were cooperative with coworkers and their superiors, and they were happy in their work.

Sindermann filed suit in a federal trial court in Texas, alleging that because his contract was not renewed as a result of his public criticism of the OJC administration, officials violated his First Amendment right to freedom of expression. He also contended that the board's failure to provide a hearing violated his Fourteenth Amendment rights to procedural due process. The board, in denying that its actions were retaliatory, responded that it had no obligation to provide a hearing, because Sindermann's contract had expired, and he lacked a property interest in continued employment.

The court, determining that the plaintiff's contract expired and that OJC had not adopted a tenure system, ruled in the board's favor. The Fifth Circuit reversed in favor of the plaintiff, finding that the board violated his Fourteenth Amendment rights in denying his request for a hearing to resolve whether the nonrenewal of his contract was due to his protected free speech and whether he had an “expectancy” of reemployment. Dissatisfied with the outcome, OJC appealed; the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal and considered Perry along with Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth (1972), wherein a faculty member in Wisconsin who was hired under a one-year contract challenged the nonrenewal of his contract after he was provided neither with reasons that his employment was terminated nor an opportunity for a hearing.

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