Branti v. Finkel, 445 U.S. 507 (1980), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that public defenders cannot be fired solely based on their political affiliation.
| Branti v. Finkel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Decided March 31, 1980 | |
| Full case name | Branti v. Finkel |
| Citations | 445 U.S. 507 (more) |
| Holding | |
| Public defenders cannot be fired solely based on their political affiliation. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
The two petitioners, Republicans, were Assistant Public Defenders fired by a newly-elected county Public Defender affiliated with the Democrats.[1] The decision here was based in part on the fact that the county Public Defender was not a policy-making position entitled to such a distinction among its employees, but the Court extended this doctrine in Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois to protect government employees much more broadly.[2]