Aguilar et al. v. Felton et al.
Decided July 1, 1985. William Joseph Brennan Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 84-237 · 473 U.S. 402 (1985) · Cited 270 times
Holding
The Title I program administered by New York City, which is similar in a number of respects to that held unconstitutional today in School District of Grand Rapids v.
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.
Majority · 4
- William Joseph Brennan Jr. · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Harry Andrew Blackmun
- John Paul Stevens
- Thurgood Marshall
Concurring · 1
- Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. · filed a concurring opinion
Dissenting · 4
- Byron Raymond White · filed a dissenting opinion
- Sandra Day O'Connor · filed a dissenting opinion
- Warren Earl Burger · filed a dissenting opinion
- William Hubbs Rehnquist · filed a dissenting opinion
“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.
- Meek v. Pittenger · 421 U.S. 349 (1975)
- Lemon v. Kurtzman · 403 U.S. 602 (1971)
- Wolman v. Walter · 433 U.S. 229 (1977)
- Wallace v. Jaffree · 472 U.S. 38 (1985)
- Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist · 413 U.S. 756 (1973)
- Roemer v. Board of Public Works of Md. · 426 U.S. 736 (1976)
- Walz v. Tax Comm'n of City of New York · 397 U.S. 664 (1970)
- Mueller v. Allen · 463 U.S. 388 (1983)
- Everson v. Board of Ed. of Ewing · 330 U.S. 1 (1947)
- Tilton v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 672 (1971)
- Lynch v. Donnelly · 465 U.S. 668 (1984)
- Board of Ed. of Central School Dist. No. 1 v. Allen · 392 U.S. 236 (1968)
- Illinois Ex Rel. McCollum v. Board of Ed. of School Dist. No. 71, Champaign Cty. · 333 U.S. 203 (1948)
- Kulko v. Superior Court of Cal., City and County of San Francisco · 436 U.S. 84 (1978)
- Zorach v. Clauson · 343 U.S. 306 (1952)
- Hunt v. McNair · 413 U.S. 734 (1973)
- Estate of Thornton v. Caldor, Inc. · 472 U.S. 703 (1985)
- Bennett v. New Jersey · 470 U.S. 632 (1985)
- Bennett v. Kentucky Department of Education · 470 U.S. 656 (1985)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Agostini v. Felton · 521 U.S. 203 (1997)
- Board of Ed. of Kiryas Joel Village School Dist. v. Grumet · 512 U.S. 687 (1994)
- Bowen v. Kendrick · 487 U.S. 589 (1988)
- Mitchell v. Helms · 530 U.S. 793 (2000)
- County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union · 492 U.S. 573 (1989)
- Lee v. Weisman · 505 U.S. 577 (1992)
- Hernandez v. Commissioner · 490 U.S. 680 (1989)
- Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization · 597 U.S. 215 (2022)
- Payne v. Tennessee · 501 U.S. 808 (1991)
- Edwards v. Aguillard · 482 U.S. 578 (1987)
- Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School District · 508 U.S. 384 (1993)
- Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District · 509 U.S. 1 (1993)
- Van Orden v. Perry · 545 U.S. 677 (2005)
- Zelman v. Simmons-Harris · 536 U.S. 639 (2002)
- Jimmy Swaggart Ministries v. Board of Equalization of California · 493 U.S. 378 (1990)
- Shurtleff v. Boston · 596 U.S. 243 (2022)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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William Joseph Brennan Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1985). 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).