Alexander, Governor of Tennessee, et al. v. Choate et al.

Decided January 9, 1985. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 83-727 · 469 U.S. 287 (1985) · Cited 1,271 times

Holding

Assuming that 504 or its implementing regulations reach some claims of disparate-impact discrimination, the effect of Tennessee's reduction in annual inpatient hospital coverage is not among them.

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 9–0.

“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.

• Southeastern Community College v. Davis · 442 U.S. 397 (1979)
• Guardians Assn. v. Civil Serv. Comm'n of New York City · 463 U.S. 582 (1983)
• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke · 438 U.S. 265 (1978)
• Lau v. Nichols · 414 U.S. 563 (1974)
• Consolidated Rail Corporation v. Darrone · 465 U.S. 624 (1984)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• Harris v. McRae · 448 U.S. 297 (1980)
• Smith v. Robinson · 468 U.S. 992 (1984)
• Jefferson v. Hackney · 406 U.S. 535 (1972)
• United States v. Rutherford · 442 U.S. 544 (1979)
• Beal v. Doe · 432 U.S. 438 (1977)
• Seatrain Shipbuilding Corp. v. Shell Oil Co. · 444 U.S. 572 (1980)
• Andrus v. Shell Oil Co. · 446 U.S. 657 (1980)

Cited by

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

• Alexander v. Sandoval · 532 U.S. 275 (2001)
• A. J. T. v. Osseo Area Schools, Independent School Dist. No. 279 · 605 U.S. 335 (2025)
• School Bd. of Nassau Cty. v. Arline · 480 U.S. 273 (1987)
• Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America v. Walsh, Acting Commissioner, Maine Department of Human Services · 538 U.S. 644 (2003)
• Bowen v. American Hospital Assn. · 476 U.S. 610 (1986)
• Olmstead v. L.C. · 527 U.S. 581 (1999)
• Atascadero State Hospital v. Scanlon · 473 U.S. 234 (1985)
• Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools · 580 U.S. 154 (2017)
• Traynor v. Turnage · 485 U.S. 535 (1988)
• Lane v. Pena · 518 U.S. 187 (1996)
• Gratz v. Bollinger · 539 U.S. 244 (2003)
• United States Department of Transportation v. Paralyzed Veterans of America · 477 U.S. 597 (1986)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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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).