Abbott v. Perez

Decided June 25, 2018. Samuel A. Alito Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 17-586 · 585 U.S. 579 (2018) · Cited 232 times

Holding

The District Court disregarded the presumption of legislative good faith and improperly reversed the burden of proof when it required the State to show a lack of discriminatory intent in adopting new districting plans; one of the challenged State House districts is an impermissible racial gerrymander.

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 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

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.

• Gunn v. University Committee to End the War in Viet Nam · 399 U.S. 383 (1970)
• League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry · 548 U.S. 399 (2006)
• Hunter v. Underwood · 471 U.S. 222 (1985)
• Carson v. American Brands, Inc. · 450 U.S. 79 (1981)
• Whitcomb v. Chavis · 403 U.S. 124 (1971)
• Miller v. Johnson · 515 U.S. 900 (1995)
• Shelby County v. Holder · 570 U.S. 529 (2013)
• Village of Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp. · 429 U.S. 252 (1977)
• Thornburg v. Gingles · 478 U.S. 30 (1986)
• Hertz Corp. v. Friend · 559 U.S. 77 (2010)
• Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. v. Mayacamas Corp. · 485 U.S. 271 (1988)
• City of Mobile v. Bolden · 446 U.S. 55 (1980)
• Shaw v. Reno · 509 U.S. 630 (1993)
• Phillips v. United States · 312 U.S. 246 (1941)
• Reno v. Bossier Parish School Board · 520 U.S. 471 (1997)
• Stainback v. Mo Hock Ke Lok Po · 336 U.S. 368 (1949)
• Mitchell v. Donovan · 398 U.S. 427 (1970)
• Anderson v. City of Bessemer City · 470 U.S. 564 (1985)
• Yick Wo v. Hopkins · 118 U.S. 356 (1886)
• Reynolds v. Sims · 377 U.S. 533 (1964)
• McCleskey v. Zant · 499 U.S. 467 (1991)
• Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. · 466 U.S. 485 (1984)
• Ricci v. DeStefano · 557 U.S. 557 (2009)
• Sampson v. Murray · 415 U.S. 61 (1974)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Wesberry v. Sanders · 376 U.S. 1 (1964)
• Johnson v. De Grandy · 512 U.S. 997 (1994)
• Bush v. Vera · 517 U.S. 952 (1996)
• Shaw v. Hunt · 517 U.S. 899 (1996)
• Holder v. Hall · 512 U.S. 874 (1994)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• A.A.R.P. v. Trump · 605 U.S. 91 (2025)
• Department of Education v. California · 604 U.S. 650 (2025)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2018). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).