Abate et al. v. Mundt et al.
Decided June 7, 1971. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 71 · 403 U.S. 182 (1971) · Cited 253 times
Holding
In light of the long tradition of overlapping functions and dual personnel in the Rockland County government and the fact that the plan does not contain any built-in bias favoring particular political interests or geographic areas, the plan is not violative of the Equal Protection Clause.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 7–2.
Majority · 5
- Thurgood Marshall · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Byron Raymond White
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- Hugo Lafayette Black
- Warren Earl Burger
Concurring · 2
- John Marshall Harlan · filed a concurring opinion
- Potter Stewart
Dissenting · 2
- William Joseph Brennan Jr. · filed a dissenting opinion
- William Orville Douglas
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.
Precedents cited
Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.
- Reynolds v. Sims · 377 U.S. 533 (1964)
- Avery v. Midland County · 390 U.S. 474 (1968)
- Kirkpatrick v. Preisler · 394 U.S. 526 (1969)
- Wells v. Rockefeller · 394 U.S. 542 (1969)
- Burns v. Richardson · 384 U.S. 73 (1966)
- Hadley v. Junior College District of Metropolitan Kansas City · 397 U.S. 50 (1970)
- Sailors v. Board of Ed. of Kent Cty. · 387 U.S. 105 (1967)
- Swann v. Adams · 385 U.S. 440 (1967)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Board of Estimate of City of New York v. Morris · 489 U.S. 688 (1989)
- City of Mobile v. Bolden · 446 U.S. 55 (1980)
- Mahan v. Howell · 410 U.S. 315 (1973)
- White v. Regester · 412 U.S. 755 (1973)
- Gaffney v. Cummings · 412 U.S. 735 (1973)
- Brown v. Thomson · 462 U.S. 835 (1983)
- Town of Lockport v. Citizens for Community Action at the Local Level, Inc. · 430 U.S. 259 (1977)
- Rogers v. Lodge · 458 U.S. 613 (1982)
- Davis v. Bandemer · 478 U.S. 109 (1986)
- Connor v. Finch · 431 U.S. 407 (1977)
- Karcher v. Daggett · 462 U.S. 725 (1983)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1971). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).