Whitehill v. Elkins

389 U.S. 54 · Decided November 16, 1967 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Whitehill v. Elkins was decided on November 16, 1967 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice William O. Douglas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Loyalty oath, government employees” in the First Amendment area. SCDB records that the Court declared a state or territorial law, regulation or constitutional provision unconstitutional.

Read the opinion

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

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

Whitehill v. Elkins, President, University of Maryland, et al.

SCDB identifiers: case 1967-014, docket 1967-014-01.

Related decisions

Other cases on “Loyalty oath, government employees”

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• Cole v. Richardson
  397 U.S. 238Decided March 16, 19707–1Per curiam
• Baggett v. BullittLaw held unconstitutional
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Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)

• Beckley Newspapers Corp. v. Hanks
  389 U.S. 81Decided November 6, 19678–0Per curiam
• United Mine Workers of America v. Illinois State Bar Association
  389 U.S. 217Decided December 5, 19678–1Hugo L. Black
• Teitel Film Corp. v. CusackLaw held unconstitutional
  390 U.S. 139Decided January 29, 19689–0Per curiam
• Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts
  388 U.S. 130Decided June 12, 19675–4John M. Harlan II
• Cameron v. Johnson
  390 U.S. 611Decided April 22, 19687–2William J. Brennan Jr.
• Ginsberg v. New York
  390 U.S. 629Decided April 22, 19686–3William J. Brennan Jr.

Same Term, same area (First Amendment)

• Associated Press v. Walker
  389 U.S. 28Decided October 16, 19679–0Per curiam
• Potomac News Co. v. United States
  389 U.S. 47Decided October 23, 19677–1Per curiam
• Conner v. City of Hammond
  389 U.S. 48Decided October 23, 19677–1Per curiam
• Central Magazine Sales, Ltd. v. United States
  389 U.S. 50Decided October 23, 19677–1Per curiam
• Beckley Newspapers Corp. v. Hanks
  389 U.S. 81Decided November 6, 19678–0Per curiam
• Chance v. California
  389 U.S. 89Decided November 6, 19678–1Per curiam

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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