Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois

Illinois's governor issued an executive order freezing state agency hiring, but allowed agencies to petition him to break the freeze, and used those petitions to ensure state agencies hired only Republican Party supporters. Cynthia Rutan and other plaintiffs sued the Governor and the Republican Party of Illinois (defendants), claiming they had repeatedly been denied promotions or state employment altogether solely because they did not support the Republican Party. The district court dismissed the suit for failure to state a claim, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.