Elrod v. Burns

427 U.S. 347 · Decided June 25, 1976 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Elrod v. Burns was decided on June 25, 1976 by a vote of 5–3. The Court affirmed the lower court's decision. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “First Amendment, miscellaneous” in the First Amendment area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Did not participate: John Paul Stevens.

Full case caption

Elrod, Sheriff, et al. v. Burns et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1975-158, docket 1975-158-01.

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Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error