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 referenda.
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:
In 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, 600 U.S. ___ (2023), the Supreme Court held, in a 6-3 decision, that a website designer had a First Amendment free speech right to refuse to create wedding websites for same-sex couples. This decision reversed the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis,
Advocates demonstrate in front of the Supreme Court early Monday, June 25, 2018. The justices handed down a decision that said crisis licensed pregnancy centers in California could not be forced to inform patients that the state ofers programms with several family planning services, including abortion. Many of the facilities were established by pro-life organizations
Illinois government employee Mark Janus, center, turns after thanking supporters outside the Supreme Court, Monday, Feb. 26, 2018. The Supreme Court ruled in June 2018 that an Illinois law that allows unions representing government employees to collect fees from workers who choose not to join is impermissible under the First Amendment as a form of