Ambach, Commissioner of Education of the State of New York, et al. v. Norwick et al.

Decided April 17, 1979. Lewis Franklin Powell Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 76-808 · 441 U.S. 68 (1979) · Cited 255 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

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. 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.

• Foley v. Connelie · 435 U.S. 291 (1978)
• Sugarman v. Dougall · 413 U.S. 634 (1973)
• In Re Griffiths · 413 U.S. 717 (1973)
• Nyquist v. Mauclet · 432 U.S. 1 (1977)
• Truax v. Raich · 239 U.S. 33 (1915)
• Graham v. Richardson · 403 U.S. 365 (1971)
• San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez · 411 U.S. 1 (1973)
• Examining Bd. of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors v. Flores De Otero · 426 U.S. 572 (1976)
• Pickering v. Board of Ed. of Township High School Dist. 205, Will Cty. · 391 U.S. 563 (1968)
• Brown v. Board of Education · 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
• Yick Wo v. Hopkins · 118 U.S. 356 (1886)
• Wisconsin v. Yoder · 406 U.S. 205 (1972)
• Takahashi v. Fish & Game Commission · 334 U.S. 410 (1948)
• Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle · 429 U.S. 274 (1977)
• Hickman v. Taylor · 329 U.S. 495 (1947)
• Meyer v. Nebraska · 262 U.S. 390 (1923)
• Trop v. Dulles · 356 U.S. 86 (1958)
• Massachusetts Board of Retirement v. Murgia · 427 U.S. 307 (1976)
• Shelton v. Tucker · 364 U.S. 479 (1960)
• Schware v. Board of Bar Examiners of NM · 353 U.S. 232 (1957)
• Givhan v. Western Line Consolidated School District · 439 U.S. 410 (1979)
• Keyes v. School Dist. No. 1, Denver · 413 U.S. 189 (1973)
• Illinois Ex Rel. McCollum v. Board of Ed. of School Dist. No. 71, Champaign Cty. · 333 U.S. 203 (1948)
• Terrace v. Thompson · 263 U.S. 197 (1923)
• Bond v. Floyd · 385 U.S. 116 (1966)
• Adler v. Board of Ed. of City of New York · 342 U.S. 485 (1952)
• Oyama v. California · 332 U.S. 633 (1948)
• Patsone v. Pennsylvania · 232 U.S. 138 (1914)
• McCready v. Virginia · 94 U.S. 391 (1877)
• Hauenstein v. Lynham · 100 U.S. 483 (1880)

Cited by

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

• Cabell v. Chavez-Salido · 454 U.S. 432 (1982)
• Toll v. Moreno · 458 U.S. 1 (1982)
• Board of Ed., Island Trees Union Free School Dist. No. 26 v. Pico · 457 U.S. 853 (1982)
• Bernal v. Fainter · 467 U.S. 216 (1984)
• Plyler v. Doe · 457 U.S. 202 (1982)
• Gregory v. Ashcroft · 501 U.S. 452 (1991)
• Bethel School District No. 403 v. Fraser · 478 U.S. 675 (1986)
• City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. · 473 U.S. 432 (1985)
• New Jersey v. T. L. O. · 469 U.S. 325 (1985)
• Rendell-Baker v. Kohn · 457 U.S. 830 (1982)
• Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier · 484 U.S. 260 (1988)
• Wygant v. Jackson Board of Education · 476 U.S. 267 (1986)
• Board of Ed. of Westside Community Schools (Dist. 66) v. Mergens · 496 U.S. 226 (1990)

Official text

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). 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).