Allen et al. v. McCurry

Decided December 9, 1980. Potter Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 79-935 · 449 U.S. 90 (1980) · Cited 4,909 times

Holding

The Court of Appeals erred in holding that respondent's inability to obtain federal habeas corpus relief upon his Fourth Amendment claim renders the doctrine of collateral estoppel inapplicable to his 1983 suit.

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 6–3.

“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.

• Monroe v. Pape · 365 U.S. 167 (1961)
• Stone v. Powell · 428 U.S. 465 (1976)
• England v. Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners · 375 U.S. 411 (1964)
• Montana v. United States · 440 U.S. 147 (1979)
• Preiser v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 475 (1973)
• Blonder-Tongue Laboratories, Inc. v. University of Illinois Foundation · 402 U.S. 313 (1971)
• Mitchum v. Foster · 407 U.S. 225 (1972)
• Younger v. Harris · 401 U.S. 37 (1971)
• Cromwell v. County of Sac · 94 U.S. 351 (1877)
• Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs. · 436 U.S. 658 (1978)
• Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
• Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics · 403 U.S. 388 (1971)
• Wolff v. McDonnell · 418 U.S. 539 (1974)
• Imbler v. Pachtman · 424 U.S. 409 (1976)
• Parklane Hosiery Co. v. Shore · 439 U.S. 322 (1979)
• Fay v. Noia · 372 U.S. 391 (1963)
• Carey v. Piphus · 435 U.S. 247 (1978)
• Sanders v. United States · 373 U.S. 1 (1963)
• Owen v. City of Independence · 445 U.S. 622 (1980)
• Maine v. Thiboutot · 448 U.S. 1 (1980)
• Huffman v. Pursue, Ltd. · 420 U.S. 592 (1975)
• Martinez v. California · 444 U.S. 277 (1980)
• Zwickler v. Koota · 389 U.S. 241 (1967)
• McNeese v. Board of Education for Community Unit School District 187 Cahokia · 373 U.S. 668 (1963)
• Robertson v. Wegmann · 436 U.S. 584 (1978)
• Radzanower v. Touche Ross & Co. · 426 U.S. 148 (1976)
• Angel v. Bullington · 330 U.S. 183 (1947)
• Emich Motors Corp. v. General Motors Corp. · 340 U.S. 558 (1951)
• Davis v. Davis · 305 U.S. 32 (1938)
• Triplett v. Lowell · 297 U.S. 638 (1936)

Cited by

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

• Kremer v. Chemical Construction Corp. · 456 U.S. 461 (1982)
• San Remo Hotel, L. P. v. City & County of San Francisco · 545 U.S. 323 (2005)
• Migra v. Warren City School District Board of Education · 465 U.S. 75 (1984)
• Haring v. Prosise · 462 U.S. 306 (1983)
• University of Tennessee v. Elliott · 478 U.S. 788 (1986)
• Marrese v. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons · 470 U.S. 373 (1985)
• United States v. Stauffer Chemical Co. · 464 U.S. 165 (1984)
• Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. v. Epstein · 516 U.S. 367 (1996)
• Lucky Brand Dungarees, Inc. v. Marcel Fashions Group, Inc. · 590 U.S. 405 (2020)
• Idaho v. Coeur D'Alene Tribe of Idaho · 521 U.S. 261 (1997)
• Astoria Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v. Solimino · 501 U.S. 104 (1991)
• United States v. Mendoza · 464 U.S. 154 (1984)
• Winston v. Lee · 470 U.S. 753 (1985)
• Heck v. Humphrey · 512 U.S. 477 (1994)
• Hudson v. Palmer · 468 U.S. 517 (1984)
• District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman · 460 U.S. 462 (1983)
• Jett v. Dallas Independent School District · 491 U.S. 701 (1989)
• Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co. · 500 U.S. 614 (1991)
• Johnson v. De Grandy · 512 U.S. 997 (1994)
• Boumediene v. Bush · 553 U.S. 723 (2008)
• Deakins v. Monaghan · 484 U.S. 193 (1988)
• Withrow v. Williams · 507 U.S. 680 (1993)
• United States v. Stanley · 483 U.S. 669 (1987)
• McDonald v. City of West Branch · 466 U.S. 284 (1984)
• Nevada v. United States · 463 U.S. 110 (1983)
• Tower v. Glover · 467 U.S. 914 (1984)
• Baker v. General Motors Corp. · 522 U.S. 222 (1998)
• Parsons Steel, Inc. v. First Alabama Bank · 474 U.S. 518 (1986)
• Kaiser Steel Corp. v. Mullins · 455 U.S. 72 (1982)
• Haywood v. Drown · 556 U.S. 729 (2009)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1980). 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).